Abstract
Industrial output in Romania was down by 11.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q109,
and acted as a significant
drag on economic growth. Indicators do not yet
suggest a rapid recovery and this is particularly visible in
the autos
industry. In April, new car registrations were down by 51.8% y-o-y to 11,052
units compared
with 22,943 in April 2008. 4M09 saw 40,141 new cars
registered, a fall of 58.6% y-o-y. Meanwhile, the
Europe–wide
downturn resulted in a 17.2% y-o-y fall in vehicle registrations in Q1,
according to
estimates from the Association des Constructeurs
Européens d’Automobiles (ACEA). Their statistics for
25 EU
member states, excluding Cyprus and Malta, and European Free Trade Association
(EFTA) states
Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland for 4M09 showed 4.694mn
cars registered, down by 15.9% y-o-y. The
figure for Automobile Dacia
registrations stood at 18,384 units, up by 137.6% y-o-y, and its market
share increased from 0.6% to 1.6%. 49,855 Dacias were registered in the 28
European countries covered,
up by 52.7% compared with 4M08. Renault had
sales of 354,692 units, down by 17.6% y-o-y.
European carmakers have seen
their profits collapse as consumer demand falls and cost cuts are
implemented, in particular research and development (R&D) investments. In
December 2008, the
European Investment Bank (EIB) allocated just under EUR
7bn for lending to carmakers in H109.
However in May, the bank approved a
maximum of EUR 400mn for Ford Motor’s Romanian division to
invest in
its two car factories in the country.
Also that month, Renault announced
that its Romanian unit, Automobile Dacia, would begin selling the
low-cost
Sandero Stepway on the European market from September. This is the
firm’s second model,
after the Logan, designed for the South
American market and later introduced to Europe. Since launching
it last
July, Renault has sold 60,000 units in Europe and the Maghreb region. The new
Dacia Sandero
Stepway will be available with a 1.6-litre petrol engine or
a dCi 70 diesel engine, both to be built at
Renault’s Pitesti
Romania unit, and will share 95% of their components with the existing Sandero
and
Logan models. Spare parts will be sourced from existing Stepway
suppliers in Europe and South
America. Dacia expects the new range to
account for up to 20% of its future Sandero sales with the
potential to
sell 6,000-12,000 units in the first year of release. Renault reported a 22%
y-o-y decline in
European sales in Q1, with the overall market down by 19%
y-o-y in the same period. BMI sees the new
product release as a part of
its Renault Commitment 2009 strategy, which envisages 26 new product lines
released by end-2009.
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