According to BMI International, the actual figures for 2012 have revealed that passenger car sales declined by 23.7%, to 72,179 units, with the same trend being expected for 2013. Over the following years up to 2017, although a steady recovery is expected in volumes, the annual sales will remain below the 2007 peak.
EXISITING TRENDS CONTINUE TO HAMPER SALES
Similar to 2012 evolution, the actual figures for passenger car sales in the first 6 months of 2013 have depicted a decrease by 19.4% y-o-y, to reach 28,694 units. Although local demand for domestic was significantly different from the one for foreign vehicles (with 9,527 units of domestic cars sold vs. 26,421 imported vehicles sold in H1 2013), their trends from H1 2012 to the corresponding 2013 period were highly alike. Specifically, the local passenger car sales have decreased by 19.8% (i.e. from 9,527 units in H1 2012 to 7,640 units in H1 2013), while the imported passenger car sales recorded fell by 19.4% (i.e. from 26,421 units in H1 2012 to 21,324 units in H1 2013).
Dacia maintained its dominant position on the local market in terms of passenger vehicles sold, with 13% of total sales (i.e. 3,713 units) in the first half of 2013. Despite its output, the Romanian company recorded a 12.5% decrease in units sold compared to the same period in 2012. Opel was the only brand that recorded a slight increase in sales, reaching 756 units sold in H1 2013 as compared to 728 units in H1 2012.
When it comes to split passenger car sales by model, Dacia Logan keeps its leading position in H1 2013, with 3,713 units sold, despite decreasing by 23% compared to the 2012 corresponding period. The following players by market share, also owned by Dacia, recorded opposite trends. If the runner-up – Dacia Duster – sold 2,092 units in H1 2013, decreasing by 23% vs. H1 2012, the one that went in the third place – Dacia Sandero – soared to 1,583 units in H1 2013, representing a 92% increase against the same period in 2012.
The light commercial vehicles segment recorded a decrease in volume of 14.1% in H1 2013 vs. the same period of 2011, to reach 4,524 units. Top seed in 2013 was Dacia Doker Van, a new model that hit the market in the current year winning the first position from Ford Transit, a 2012 former leader.
As opposed to declining volumes of new cars sold, used passenger car sales have significantly increased in 2013, by approximately 36%. According to a local site (automarket.ro), over the first six months of 2013, imports of used cars amounted to 101,735 units, whereas transactions with second-hand cars registered in Romania accounted for approximately 97,486 units.
THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK GOES THROUGH CHANGES
Even though the Romanian Government has introduced a new environmental tax for used cars starting 1 January 2013, the population is increasingly turning to the used car market, which is considered a cheaper alternative. In order to discourage the used cars market, OUG 9/2013 replaced the initial registration with an environmental tax based on which the imported cars and cars already registered in Romania, but older than 2007, are subject to environmental tax at the fist resale.
The dwindling trend in sales of new cars in the current year is also explained by the shrinkage of “Rabla” program funds.
Precisely, if in 2011 a number of 116,641 old cars were dismantled with 39,216 new cars being purchased, in 2012, 44,857 units were dismantled, but only 15,149 new cars were acquired. For the present year, the Romanian Government allocated only 20,000 vouchers worth RON 6,500 each, leading to the following consideration: the project is beneficial, yet insufficient, taking into account the current demand and the approximately 2.5 million cars aged more than 10 years still on the road. In spite of a considerable decrease in total vouchers, the volume of idle ones advanced mainly due to the fact that the program started late in June 2013. Thus, the voucher holders have a limited period of 45 days to submit it to the dealers or producers enrolled in the governmental project.
PRODUCTION REMAINS STONG
As opposed to car sales evolution, production of passenger cars in Romania has recorded an exponential development in 2013, as follows: during the first six months the industry reached an outcome of 224,759 units, increasing by 44.7% compared to the similar period of the prior year. Prime growth drivers were the refreshment of Dacia’s range of models with the New Dacia Logan, New Dacia Duster and Dacia Dokker, and the increasing number of units produced in Craiova by Ford. Provided that level is maintained, the local car output could reach 420,000 units in 2013, positioning our country on the 9th
place in Europe, ahead of Italy, which is estimated to manufacture 360,000 units during the current year.
Market performers as at July 2013 in terms of production were the following: Dacia Sandero with 76,153 units, Dacia Duster with 75,624 units, Dacia Logan with 65,285 units and Ford B-Max with 50,434 units. As for exported units, the highest levels were recorded by Dacia Duster with 74,168 cars, Dacia Sandero with 72,098 cars and Ford B-Max with 50,444 cars.
