The domestic automotive sector is set to attract investments expected to reach 1.1 billion euros this year, up 10% from last year's level.

In 2008, more than one third of the estimated value of investments aimed at the automotive sector will be operated by Automobile Dacia and Ford, with the producer of Logan model having already started the 300m-euro programme meant to boost the plant's capacity from 330,000 units to 400,000 units in 2009.

Ford will invest around 80m euros in Craiova this year in case the European Commission approves the takeover of Daewoo plant by March 31, after the Senate has already approved the law draft on the privatisation of Automobile Craiova.

Integrators' investments will be followed by twice as big investment programmes from the part of suppliers. "For the investments aimed at the two Dacia and Daewoo assembly plants, domestic suppliers providing to them will earmark investments funds meant to secure the new quantity requirements worth at least 320m euros," stated Constantin Stroe, Dacia deputy chairman. He added the investments of the new suppliers that will choose Romania this year as a destination for the relocation of operations related to the production of car parts for Western European producers may reach 400m euros. Given market conditions, most these investors will choose to set up their new production facilities not in industrial parks, but on free plots of land, leased around some localities or cities of Western Romania or even in brownfield sites, using already existent buildings. Such choices have led to the emergence of some industrial centres that will eventually turn into industrial parks.

Besides the benefit of lower leasing costs, car part producers will also seek sites outside industrial parks to more easily identify the necessary workforce. At the same time, industrial parks such as Tetarom (Clu