3Q: Henrik Nenzen, managing director, Ford Romania

What are Ford’s main challenges in Romania?

Last year 214,000 vehicles were imported and 105,000 new ones sold, which is very unusual in Europe. No country wants to have a situation like that; when you sell a new vehicle the government picks up 24 percent. In Hungary and Poland – where we have faced this situation before – the authorities have decreased imports to save the market. This is why I think this big imbalance will disappear in Romania, and now with the new taxation for used vehicles second-hand car imports will decrease. Another challenge in Romania is that the new car industry is so flat. It is really tough for dealers’ profitability and this is what we really have to try to make sure the dealers are profitable.

What new models will Ford launch?

One test for us is the launch of the Ford Focus. This year we plan to sell at least 3,500 units of both the old and new Focus, but long term we want to double our segment share from the current 5 percent. We want to get to 10 percent in 2014. We are relying for this increase on our new product which beats the competition with regard to technologies and driving qualities like active city stop, park assist, cameras, lasers and sensors. It is a car designed to help the driver to an extent we have never seen.

The main competition for us in Western Europe including Romania is the Astra, Golf, Megan and in Romania always the Dacia. Ford will also come up with two electric and hybrid cars: the Focus electric and Transit Connect electric, one will even be available next year. We will put a lot of resources into electric vehicles. It’s not an easy market to get into because the battery prices are quite high. This market’s prospects depend on how the infrastructure for these vehicles develops. I believe in ten years’ time we will have some rather good electric cars on the market. We think it is very good that we have the ‘Rabla’ program while the industry is so flat. If the industry picks up and goes over 200,000 units I do not think we will need the ‘Rabla’ program.

How has the crisis affected Ford dealers?

In Romania many dealers built new facilities between 2006 and 2008 and afterwards came the crisis and they were very unlucky as the market went from 350,000 units to some 100,000 units. It is abnormally low in a country that has 22 million inhabitants. Currently, we have 37 dealers and our target is to get to 47 by year-end. The first new one will be opened in Iasi on May 5. In Bucharest we do not plan to add other dealers. The average investment for a dealership is presently at EUR 1 million.