Vehicle sales amounted to a little more than 12,000 units inOctober, down 50% compared with the same time last year, players onthe automotive market say.
The same growth pace was registered on the car market, whichreached 10,400 units in October (335 cars a day), compared with28,000 cars (907 a day), during the same period in 2008.
If sales maintain the 50% decline pace in November and December,as well, the total car market would reach 135,000 units in 2009,half of what it was last year.
"I don't see sales of more than 130,000 cars this year. The bestcase scenario would have sales reach 135,000 cars, but any morethan that is highly unlikely," said Constantin Stroe,vice-president of Automobile Dacia and chairman of the Associationof Carmakers in Romania.
The automotive market reached 126,000 vehicles in the first tenmonths of this year, down 56% compared with the same time lastyear. New car registrations reached 7,572 cars in October, down 72%compared with the same time last year, according to the VehicleRegistration and Driving Licenses Department (DRCPIV)statistics.
"There remains a visible gap between registrations and salesreported as actually completed. The re-exports of cars started inthe first half of the year are still being carried out," said AlinTapalaga, general manager of Porsche Inter Auto, the retaildivision of Porsche Romania, the biggest importer on the domesticmarket.
The difference between the cars registered in Romania and thosein the official statistics stands at more than 17,000 cars.
Even so, dealers say a slight increase in sales was noticed inOctober, which continued in November, as well, dealers in Bucharestsay, compared with the previous months, though. In November,dealers estimate sales will be comparable to the same month of lastyear, when they stood at some 14,000 cars.
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