New cars market in Romania up 10 pct in H1 2015

Newsroom 20/07/2015 | 15:08

The new cars market rose by 10 percent during the first half of 2015, shows a study by Autovit.ro.

 

This means an increase of 3,000 cars year on year. June, with more than 8,500 registered vehicles, was the best month from November 2011 to present. The positive outcomes of the scrappage program Rabla began to take effect in June and are expected to continue bringing good results during the coming months, especially as the first data point to a promising start of the program.

The imported second-hand car market had the biggest advance of the categories tracked in this analysis (14 percent), 2015 seeing the best first half since 2009 for second-hand cars brought from abroad. June was an excellent month in this category also, with 20,000 cars being registered, an all-time high compared to June of other years (about 13,000 in 2012 and 5,000 in 2011). Three quarters of second-hand cars brought are more than eight years old.

Re-registration (transactions with used cars domestically) rose 4 percent in the first six months of the year, after 2014 there has seen a moderate advance. Given that the market will not be influenced by other factors, it is likely to end the year with more than 220,000 transactions, especially due to coming months of maximum which are in the second half of the year.

When it comes to brands, Dacia dominates the market for new cars, with a 32.1 percent share of the market, followed by Skoda with 9.6 percent and Volkwagen with 9.1 percent.

Volkswagen (28.5 percent), Opel (17.3 percent) and Ford (11.5 percent) are preferred by Romanians when it comes to imported used cars, while on the internal used cars market Volkwagen (19 percent), Opel (12 percent) and Dacia (11 percent) take the first three places.

The Rabla scrappage program is the main factor that will help the new car market to maintain its positive trend, concludes the study. The number of vouchers granted increased by 5,000 and bonuses for low-emitting vehicles are being given. Last year, a quarter of new cars were purchased through the program, and in the case of some brands the share of cars bought through Rabla was 40 percent. The study predicts similar percentages for this year, with a possibility to increase by 10-15 percent to over 80,000 new cars registered. The market for used cars could rise to 220,000 units, both on imported cars category, and the re-registration.

While the second hand market is dominated by individuals, in the new car market four out of five acquisitions are made by legal entities, but their share will decrease during the high months of the scrappage program.

The environmental stamp will not change this year, and as such Euro 3 and Euro 4 cars will still be disadvantaged because of high taxes on sale. There are no plans to change the amount of environmental stamp so that its negative effects will most likely persist in 2016.

Natalia Martian

BR Magazine | Latest Issue

Download PDF: Business Review Magazine March (II) 2024 Issue

The March (II) 2024 issue of Business Review Magazine is now available in digital format, featuring the main cover story titled “BAT DBS Romania Hub: A Vibrant New Office For An Employee-Centric
Newsroom | 27/03/2024 | 17:32
Advertisement Advertisement
Close ×

We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.

Accept & continue