Romanian Carmaker Dacia Resumes Prod After Nearly 3 Weeks Of Inactivity

Dacia’s trade union leader, Nicolae Pavelescu, said the company resumed production, adding, however, that the management and union officials will decide in their meeting Monday whether the company’s operations will continue in December or be halted again between December 11 and January 15, 2009.

Dacia previously halted production on October 30 and 31, November 13 and 14, as well as between November 20 and December 7.

Moreover, the company’s management will decide this week if it extends 600 labor contracts concluded for an unlimited period, which expire end-December.

Dacia sales on the local market lowered 52.3% in November to 4,698 units from 9.850 units, which translates into a record decline for the company.

The company’s sales lowered 13.5% in the first eleven months of the year, to 81,097 units, compared with 93,762 units in the same period a year ago, Dacia said.

Dacia officials said the widening of the financial and economic crisis and massive used car imports triggered a significant decrease in auto markets, including the Romanian one.

The Romanian Government decided on December 4 to increase up to three times the pollution tax for cars on purchases of imported used cars. Moreover, it decided to increase the bonus for the scrapping of used cars.