Romanian auto exports increased by 75.7 percent in the first six months of the current year, compared with the same period last year, according to information provided by the Association of Vehicle Producers and Importers (APIA). Vehicles exports totaled 42,914 units, up from the 24,422 sent abroad in the January-June 2005 period. Exports of commercial vehicles registered a hike, to 247 units, up 437 percent compared with the first six months pf 2005, when only 46 units were sold overseas.

Only heavy trucks (more than 18 tons) were exported and no light commercial vehicles (less than 3.5 tons) were sold. In the same period of 2005, a total of 28 light trucks were exported. In June 2006, 90 heavy trucks were delivered, exports in this category registering an increase of 15 times compared with the same period last year.
On the local market, the best-selling vehicle in June 2006 was Dacia, with 10,038 units sold, followed by Daewoo (2000 units), Renault (1792 units) and Skoda (1764 units).

The number of passenger cars sold last month totaled 19,412 units, an 11.5 percent drop from the previous month. In the first quarter 2006, the number of leasing contracts closed on the local auto market advanced by 46 percent year-on-year. Leases represented 43 percent of total auto sales, according to the APIA. The growth rate diminished however from the same period of 2005 when the year-on-year growth rate reached 57 percent. The main Romanian vehicles producer, Dacia, estimated that total sales in Romania would decrease by five percent this year and other importers forecasted a 10 percent drop. The market share held by Dacia on the internal market was up 0.3 percent this year. Excluding the ten new member states of the EU, car registrations were up 10 percent overall, to 1.35 million units.

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