Romanian Car Tax Talks Put Auto Mkt In Gridlock

The extended talks on the Romanian pollution tax for cars, used car imports and other factors, such as the worldwide auto crisis, have put the market in gridlock and the buyers on stand-by, car producer and importer association APIA president Ernest Popovici told MEDIAFAX.

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"Everyone is waiting to see what will happen with the tax, and this, coupled with other important factors, such as the crisis on the auto segment, brought us to the situation we are currently facing, a market gridlock," said the president of the Romanian Association of Car Producers and Importers (APIA).

Popovici added the effects caused by the change of the car tax are predictable.

"Our current situation is pretty clear. We have Dacia, which resumed production Monday, but which also announced a new halt in production. (...) After a very weak yearend for new car sales, but an explosive one for imported used car sales, all premises point to an equally weak January for the new car market," Popovici explained.

New car registrations dropped by 8.6% in Romania last year, to 285,504 units, while used car registrations grew by 151.4%, to a record level of 310,885 cars.

In 2007 there were significantly more new cars registered (312,533 units) then there were used ones (123,622 cars), but last year used car registrations took the lead leaving new car registrations 25,000 units behind, according to data from the license and car registration division within the Ministry of Interior.

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