The Romanian automotive market has made sales in excess of 100,000 units after five months into the year, 58% more than for the same period last year.
At an average price of 10,000-12,000 euros per car, the market value overshot 1bn euros in the first five months of the year, proving the estimates by analysts and market players to be wrong again.
"This development has taken everyone by surprise. Unfortunately I don''t think many players were ready for such strong growth. I can say the automotive market has left us (dealers and importers) behind and we need to see how we can adjust as quickly as possible to keep up with this growth," said Brent Valmar, the chairman of the Association of Automotive Manufacturers and Importers of Romania (APIA).
Having predicted growth of 10-15% at the beginning of the year, the main players on the market later revised their estimates to 25-30%, only for the preliminary five-month results to indicate a 58% increase.
"After what''s happened thus far, I can no longer tell what growth the market will see at the end of the year," says Valmar.
Despite this, some players are still sticking with their previous forecasts.
"We estimate 30% growth for the market compared with 2004. September will see a slowdown in sales, but we are hoping for business to pick up during the Bucharest International Auto Show. In our opinion, this surge in car sales -though sales of consumer goods are also booming - is due to the tax cut, the fall in the euro and, last but not least, the trade-in premium for old cars," said Ross Englisbe, marketing manager of Renault Nissan Romania, the official importer of the Renault and Nissan brands for Romania.
He believes that while September will see a slower sales pace, as is the case every year due to it being the post-holiday month, the decline will mainly come from expectations surrounding the Bucharest International Auto Show.
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