New car sales increase by over 20 per cent in Romania in the first quarter

New vehicle sales in Romania increased by 20.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2017, reaching almost 36,000 units, according to data released by the Car Manufacturers and Importers Association – APIA.

Passenger car sales recorded an even higher growth, of 26.1 per cent, to 29,531 units, while commercial vehicle sales went down by 0.6 per cent, to 6,462 units.

Local brand Dacia continues to top the ranking, with close to 8,600 passenger cars sold in the first quarter, resulting in a market share of 29.1 per cent. Its sales were 41 per cent higher than in the same period of 2017. Volkswagen was second, with close to 3,400 units sold and 11.5 per cent market share, followed by Skoda, with 2,740 units (9.3 per cent market share). Ford and Renault completed the top 5.

Petrol cars reached a market share of almost 55 per cent in the first quarter, compared to 45.7 per cent in the same period of last year, while the share of diesel cars dropped to 42.9 per cent, according to Romania Insider.

The share of electric and hybrid cars in total sales went up to 2.2 per cent, from 1.7 per cent in the first three months of 2017. Electric and hybrid cars sales reached 661 units, up 62 per cent year-on-year. A total of 201 electric cars were sold in the first three months, compared to only 41 in the same period of last year.