Valmar: Big dealers have a high indebtedness level

Brent Valmar, head of Porsche Romania, the largest car importer on the Romanian market, as well as vice-president of the Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association, believes the Romanian car market bottomed out this summer, amid an over 58% sales decline, so the only way is up. "We don't know when the luxury market and the general one will rebound, but I think we hit the lowest point, and we can hope at least for a market stabilisation in order to overcome these times," said Brent Valmar. APIA expects this year's market to amount to 130,000 cars, which would mean an almost 60% decline on last year. A forecast for 2010 indicates the same number of cars as in 2009. "We have to adjust our engines to a 130,000-car market rate," added Valmar. One of the phenomena that characterised this year's car market, apart from the dramatic decline, was the closure of showrooms in cities, especially of those that operated in rented spaces. "There are a few effects of the crisis that have been felt lately. A few showrooms were closed, in cities where the owners were not making profit but did not lose any more, either. There is, however, a real problem within distribution networks, because many of them have major investments and a relatively high indebtedness level," added Valmar. According to the head of Porsche, investors in the auto sector are now relying on the funding banks' willingness to reschedule investment loans.