The main imported car brands saw their growth rate fall to around 22% in the first quarter, according to ZF calculations, compared with 50% in 2007. The only brands that boasted rapid growth were the Japanese brands, as well as Fiat and Ford, which took over the car plant in Craiova. The imported car market rose by over 50% in January, almost 30% in February, and by 12-15% in March (although no official data has been released yet), according to ZF estimates.
The brand that registered the highest sales in the first quarter was Skoda, which sold 6,147 cars on the Romanian market, up over 16%. Porsche officials in Romania, the importer of VW on the domestic market, chose not to report sales. However, in the first two months of 2008, the brand's sales were flat from last year.
Ford saw sales increase by almost 38% and reach 5,638 units, overshooting the volume registered by Renault, the best-selling imported brand in recent years, which posted a slight decline of 3% and reached 5,623 units.
"The acquisition of Automobile Craiova also had a significant contribution to Ford's sales increase," stated Constantin Stroe, Automobile Dacia vice-president, who explains that the most significant factor is the arrival on the domestic market of Ford's car part suppliers.
Mazda and Fiat boasted the highest growth in terms of sales in the first quarter.
Mazda sales advanced by 545% in the first three months of this year and reached 626 units. Mazda3, a compact model, registered the strongest sales- 136 units, followed by the small class Mazda 2, with 69 units, and the CX-7 SUV.
Renault's best-selling model remained the small-class Symbol, with 2,215 units. Laguna III, the medium-class model, launched by the French carmaker on the domestic market last month, registered sales of over 114 units, whereas the target for the entire year stands at 900
