Romania among top automobile producers in the EU in the first half of 2025

Romania ranked sixth among the top automobile producers in the European Union in the first half of 2025. During this period, the country’s two car factories produced over 230,000 cars.

In the first part of 2025, the European automotive industry produced a total of 5.9 million cars, down 2.8% compared to last year.

Germany dominates production with 2.1 million vehicles. It is followed by Spain, with over 930,000 units, while the Czech Republic and Slovakia rank third and fourth. France occupies fifth place, while Romania is in sixth place, according to Digi24.

The Dacia and Ford plants in southern Romania produced roughly 4% of the total amount of cars manufactured in the EU so far in 2025. However, production decreased by 6.5% compared to last year, due to reduced demand for certain models and also the major reduction of the “Rabla” scrappage program, which would have brought around 10,000 more cars into production.

The automotive industry is traditionally a vital economic engine in Europe. However, the sector has faced a string of challenges and increased competition from China in the last years. Stuttering sales, high energy prices, growing global competition, and an uncertain regulatory and trade environment have plunged the sector into a crisis, with growth levels still below pre-pandemic years and electric vehicles stagnating at around 15%, according to Euronews.

Nevertheless, brands like Mercedes and Dacia, among others, are slowly shifting to electric vehicles more and more, encouraged by EU regulations meant to tackle pollution.

(Photo source: Tudor Vintiloiu | Dreamstime.com)