New car sales increase in the first quarter by 6.3 percent to 38,253 vehicles

Sales of new cars in Romania increased by 6.3 percent in the first quarter of 2019, compared to the same period of the previous year, to a total volume of 38,253 units, according to data released by the Association of Manufacturers and Importers Automobile (APIA).

The market analysis shows that sales at the national level are mainly supported by companies, covering 72 percent of total purchases of cars made in the first three months of 2019. However, it is noted that the number of cars purchased by individuals in these first three months (8.606 units) is 2.2 percent lower than in the same period of the previous year (8,799 units).

In March, 2019, sales volume dropped by 8.1 percent compared to the same month last year, the impact of the one-month delay of the Rabla Program being probably one of the explanations, according to APIA.

“However, in the first quarter of 2019, 6.3 percent more vehicles were sold, with a total volume of 38,253 units, of which 31,174 cars, up 5.6 percent, respectively 7,079 commercial vehicles, with a growth of 9.5 percent),” shows the press release.

The top of the brands (cars and commercial vehicles) is driven by Dacia – with 9,008 units, followed by Volkswagen (3,718) and Ford (3,449). At the same time, for cars, the Dacia brand rankings ranked first with 8,218 units (26.4 percent market share, down 4.3 percent compared to 2018), followed by Volkswagen – with 3,230 units (10.4 percent market share), Skoda (2,629 units and 8.4 percent of the total market), Ford (2,485 units and 8 percent market share) and Renault (2,428 units and 7.8 percent).

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Depending on models, the 2,399 units, Dacia Logan is the best-selling model in the first quarter of 2019, followed by Dacia Duster with 2,340 units, Dacia Sandero (1,768), Renault Clio (1,452) and Skoda Octavia (1,072).

On the type of fuel, the first three months of 2019 record a favorable report for gasoline-powered passenger cars accounting for 65.8 percent of the total, significantly higher than their share in the first three months of 2018, of 54.8 percent.

Regarding green cars (electric and hybrid), their share continues to increase, reaching a relatively large market share of 3.1 percent in the first three months of 2019. By category, there is a 5 percent increase for fully-electric cars and a drop of 54.8 percent for plug-ins. On the other hand, hybrid cars record a 77.4 percent jump.

As far as the car’s favorite color, white and gray still dominate demand, registering 27.8 percent and 25.3 percent of all preferences in the first three months of this year, followed by blue with 16.5 percent and black – by 11.1 percent.

Reported to the country of origin of cars, the APIA analysis shows that Romania is the first with 25.8 percent of the total, followed by Germany with 21.9 percent, Czech Republic (10.9 percent), Turkey (9.1 percent) and Spain 7.5 percent). Car sales from domestic production declined by 3.6 percent in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period in 2018, while import car sales increased by 9.1 percent.

According to APIA, 110,308 units were registered in the first three months of 2019, 8.6 percent fewer than in 2018, but also by an improved age structure (those with over 12 years of age, recording an important decrease of 14.9 percent).