Top 10 automotive companies make up 5% of GDP

The top ten largest companies on the local car market, which include importers, manufacturers and dealers, posted cumulated turnover worth over 6 billion euros last year, equivalent to 5% of Romania’s GDP in 2007. The combined turnover of Dacia, the leading car manufacturer on the local market, and Porsche Romania, the importer with the highest sales in 2007, amounted to over 3.1 billion euros, a value similar to the combined figure of the remaining eight players. Automobile Dacia posted turnover worth 2.15 billion euros in 2007, up almost 32% against the previous year. The growth was largely derived by the increase in exports, by over 50%, to 121,000 units, while domestic sales were down 1%, to 95,000 vehicles. The company’s profit was up by 25.5 million euros, to 132.5 million euros. While in 2007, vehicle sales were up almost 24% in 2007, and imports by nearly 50%, overall sales were up by just 14% in the first four months of this year, with imports up 23%.