By Bogdan Neagu
BUCHAREST--Romania's auto market grew in 2014 after six years of
steep declines, witnessing a 21.5% increase in sales of cars and
commercial vehicles to 100,330 units, according to data from the
Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association, known as APIA,
news agency Mediafax reported.
On the other hand, car production fell 4.8% on the year in 2014
and exports rose just 0.4%, APIA said in a statement Thursday.
In 2014, 391,434 vehicles were made in Romania, 4.8% fewer than
in 2013. Of those, 338,593 units (86.5%) were produced by Dacia,
52,829 (13.5%) by Ford and 12 units by truck maker Roman Brasov.
Also, 364,251 vehicles were exported in 2014, 0.4% more than in
2013. The most exported models were Dacia Duster (165,718 units),
Dacia Logan (66,436 units) and Ford B-MAX (52,824 units).
Dacia, made locally by French Renault's unit Automobile Dacia,
was the best-traded brand on the domestic market, with 26,918 units
sold (32.5% of the total), followed by Volkswagen (8,674 units,
10.5%), Skoda (7,770 units, 9.4%), Renault (5,750 units, 6.9%),
Ford (5,569 units, 6.7%) and Opel (3,605 units, 4,4%).
The best-selling car models on the Romanian market were Dacia
Logan (11,285 units), Dacia Duster (5,796 units), Dacia Sandero
(4,957 units), Skoda Octavia (3,473 units) and Volkswagen Golf
(2,739 units).
According to the statement, 30% of cars sold in Romania are made
locally, 18% are imported from Germany, 9.5% from the Czech
Republic, 9.4% from Spain and 8% from France.
Write to Bogdan Neagu at bogdan.neagu@mediafax.ro
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