It will take another six months before the automotive market, which is currently down 60% compared with last year, will recover from the crisis, Ion Tiriac said in an interview for ProMotor show on Pro TV.
"Sales are and will continue to be slow for six more months. Although this is a paradox. Romanians have never been able to buy cars as cheap as today. Because all producers have surplus cars so that they went through a huge deal of trouble to get the market going. They will slowly revert to initial prices," said businessman Ion Tiriac, whose business stood at 1.4 billion euros in Romania last year.
Tiriac has operations in the automotive and real estate industries and owns significant stakes in UniCredit Tiriac Bank, the sixth-largest bank by assets in 2008, in Allianz Tiriac, the biggest insurer and in Metro Cash & Carry, the biggest player in modern trade.
"Logan's happiness at this time is justified. In my opinion, they did not only gain a market, they also gained stature, but the battle of all brands is starting again," Ion Tiriac feels.
As a result of the "crisis" and of the scrappage schemes in place in Western Europe, the sales of Dacia models rose significantly in 2009, being promoted as "the 5,000-euro cars" on many foreign markets.
Hyundai is the best-selling brand in Tiriac's portfolio, with 8,080 units sold in the first eight months of this year, according to the statistics of the Association of Automotive Manufacturers and Importers (APIA). Second best seller was Ford, represented by Romcar, which was the best-selling import brand in August.
"Ford is a volume brand, which sells very well even now, Hyundai, which earned its place on the market is selling very well, Mercedes Benz is a niche car, and this niche is the hardest hit," Tiriac said.
Premium and luxury car sales have witnessed declines of more than 60-70%
