Romania could see the sharpest decrease in new car sales in CEE this year

Romania could register the sharpest decrease in new car and commercial vehicle sales in Central Europe this year, of 24.3% compared to 2019.

However, the local car market will recover quickly and exceed the pre-COVID sales level by 2023, according to the PwC Autofacts report, based on IHS Markit data.

Thus, new car sales in Romania will decrease to 137,000 units this year, from 181,000 units in 2019, and subsequently an increase to 223,000 units in 2023, according to the report.

"The car market, one of the most affected sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic with closed factories and the collapse of sales during lockdown, is starting to recover easily from one month to the next. But returning to 2019 volumes and exceeding them will be long-lasting, as consumers regain confidence to spend. The good news is that the forecasts for Romania are among the most optimistic, compared to the rest of the Central European markets, amid the plans of the two local manufacturers to add new hybrid models," said Daniel Anghel, Partner, Leader for the automotive industry, PwC Romania.

Overall, the market in Central Europe will decrease by 23% this year, reaching the level recorded in 2016, of 900,000 vehicles. In comparison, estimates for Western European markets show a contraction of 26%.

Regarding the production of vehicles in Romania, Autofacts and IHS estimates show a decrease of 16.3% this year, to 410,000 units, and an exponential increase until 2027, to 794,000 units, based on the plans of the two local manufacturers - Ford and Renault.

Romania ranks third in Central Europe for the decrease in car production this year, at the same level as Slovakia (-16.1%). The steepest decline is expected for the Czech Republic (-23.7%), followed by Hungary (-18.5%).

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