Sales registered in Romania for car tyres account for some 16.5% of the total business of the German group Continental, and saw a 10% rise in 2005 against 2004. “This percentage is growing, given that we estimate that Romania will absorb about 1.6 million new tyres this year. It seems to be a large figure, but in fact it is quite small if we consider the local car fleet,” Martin Zaloudek, manager of the sales unit Continental Automotive Romania told ZF Transilvania. Continental Automotive Products in Timisoara registered a turnover exceeding 165 million euros last year and a net profit of some 20 million euros, with 1,162 employees, according to data available on the site of the Ministry of Finances. Management of Continental Automotive Products announces a 12.5 million unit production capacity for the tyre plant in Timisoara in 2006, against the
11.2 millions reported last year. “The potential of the market is huge, with two major expansion opportunities. The first one has to do with the elimination of second-hand tyre trading, which in 2005 stood at 800,000 units. The second line of growth will be the winter tyre market (…),” Zaloudek added. ZF