German brands in the domestic automotive industry have lost 3%of the market since the start of this year amid the dwindlingbudgets of clients, who have shifted either to used German brandsdirectly brought from abroad, or to new cars manufactured byFrench, Italian or Korean companies, which are known for theirlower sale prices.
On the Romanian market, German brands or brands owned by Germancarmakers, such as Skoda or Seat, accounted for around 25% of themarket in the first eight months of this year, according tostatistical data from the Association of Automotive Manufacturersand Importers (APIA). Taking into account Ford, which, though anAmerican brand, has its European unit headquarters in Cologne,Germany, their share would climb to 30%.
In the first eight months of this year, the best-selling Germanbrand domestically was Volkswagen, with 7,631 units and a 7.4%market share, being the second best-selling import brand and thethird after Dacia. Ford and Skoda rank fourth and fifth in importbrands' ranking, with 6,562 units and 5,929, respectively, eightmonths into the year.
In the first eight months, the best-selling import brand,according to APIA, was Hyundai with 8,080 units, while Renault nowranks third after VW, with 7,326 units.
"Looking at the ranking of the top selling new carsdomestically, German brands have generally not always filled thefirst positions. Renault, for instance, has been in the lead formany years because price is an important factor for people buyingnew cars, and German brands are generally more expensive," saidMarius Carp, a car market analyst.
German brands' market share has dropped this year, by almost 3%,while the French stayed at the same level of around 12%. On theother hand, Dacia has posted a strong market share increase,despite the brand's domestic sales falling by 46% in the firsteight months.
German brands' dominance is much more visible on the premium andluxury segments of the domestic car market, where Audi, BMW andMercedes-Benz account for three quarters of total sales.
On the other hand, German brands' influence is felt not on thenew car market, where they account for 30%, but on the used carone. Of the 152,000 used cars imported in the first eight months ofthis year, over 80% were imported from Germany, according to carmarket players.
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