Roadside assistance registers an annual growth pace in line with sales of new cars, import cars or domestically manufactured cars, with the segment having reach a growth percentage of some 20% in 2006.
"Market growth is closely linked to sales of new cars and this is why the business of roadside assistance firms increases in line with sales of domestic importers and car makers, because the moment cars registered in Romania are insured, they are also included in a roadside assistance programme," considers Cosmin Ilina, general manager with Romanian International Assistance (RIA).
In the case of RIA, turnover rose by almost 50% in 2005 and for last year the company's representatives put turnover at 2 million euros, from around 1.2 million euros in 2005.
Zolicar, a roadside assistance company operating in Romania and Hungary, in 2006 had a 20% growth pace, with 2006 turnover being projected at 1.15 million euros.
Over the past five years, the number of roadside assistance companies with a network including at least three outlets equipped with a towing platform has increased at a rate three times bigger than in the nineties, to around 100 at present. There are 2,300 licensed car service centres in Romania now.
Specialised roadside assistance firms started emerging in Romania in 1993-1995. The business at that time meant the towing and repair of a car that broke down in the covered area.
At present, there are around 15 companies owning a network with an average number of 20 towing platforms and national coverage of at least 80%. The most important companies include ACR (Automobil Clubul Roman), Dacia Asistenta, Ford Suport (Motor Assistance), DWAR, RIA Auto or Zolicar.
There is a trend among domestic car importers on the market to outsource roadside assistance to specialised companies, with the main reason behind this being the too high costs related to the development of their own network.
The services companies generally provide include the repair of cars in the location they broke down or towing to the nearest licensed service centre.
RIA currently operates in Romania six pan-European roadside assistance programmes, Peugeot Assistance, Chrysler Jeep Privilege Service, Mitsubishi Assistance Package, Land Rover and Jaguar Assistance, with the latest programme added being for Dodge vehicles.
The profitability of the Romanian market is also triggered by the fact that companies' tariffs annually increase at a rate exceeding inflation, bringing more than constant profit margins.
Domestic importers and manufacturers started developing their own roadside assistance services after 2000. The first was Dacia, which created Dacia Asistenta in 2002.
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