Romanian car market growth comes to a halt in July

New passenger car sales went up by only 0.2% in July compared to the same month of last year, recording the lowest advance this year. In the first six months of the year, car sales saw growth rates between 13% and 23%. The volume of new cars sold in July amounted to almost 8,590, which is 15% less than in June, when sales reached a multi-annual high, according to data released by the Romanian Car Manufacturers and Importers Association – APIA. In the first seven months of the year, passenger car sales reached 54,255 units, up by 13.4% compared to the same period of 2014. Some three-quarters (75%) of all acquisitions were made by companies. The Cash-for-Bangers (Rabla) program also supported the sales growth in the first seven months, as the number of vouchers increased to 25,000 this year, compared to 20,000 last year. Customers used almost 12,000 vouchers by the end of July. The Cash-for-Bangers program allows people who own old cars to scrap the vehicle and receive a voucher in exchange, that can be used when buying a new car. Romanian brand Dacia’s sales went up by 21.6% in the first seven months, reaching almost 20,000 units. More than half of the sales were Dacia Logan (including the MCV version). Volkswagen was the best-selling import brand, with some 5.200 units, up by 10% year-on-year, followed by Skoda, with 4,900 units (up by 12% yoy). The total auto sales in the first seven months, including commercial vehicles and buses, reached 66,000 units, up by 15.8% compared to the same period of 2014. Light commercial vehicle sales went up by 24%, to 6,500 units while heavy commercial vehicle sales increased by 36%, to over 4,000 units. New car sales could go up by 15% in Romania Romania’s new car sales go up by over 10% Romania’s Cash-for-Bangers program for companies takes off editor@romania-insider.com