Auto parts industry to rise to

The car parts industry employs 120,000 people and generates some four percent of GDP, ACAROM President Constantin Stroe, also Vice President of Dacia, told Business Standard.  This industry has increased due to Dacia’s growing production.
French carmaker Renault, which took control of the state-owned Dacia producer in 1999, aims to integrate 80 percent of its best-selling Romanian brand, Logan, as of next year, compared to the current 64 percent integration index.

Thus, as of 2009, 80 percent of the Pitesti-made cars’ value will come from Romania, meaning that most of the car parts will be produced locally. Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) indicates that the car industry ranks second, following the construction field, among top most dynamic industries, with a 21.2 percent increase in 2006 year-on-year.

Other car parts producers are not as optimistic as Stroe. Elba Timisoara officials of Elba Timisoara, the main supplier of lights for Dacia, say they expect a 10-15 percent increase for the industry, due to several international companies opening branches in Romania. They can produce car parts here at lower costs and then export them.

The industry is also expected to increase due to companies producing more car parts for the domestic market. However, other players in the industry are even more pessimistic. “We forecast a close to zero increase in the industry this year,” said General Manager of German DPR Draxlmaier Procese de Productie Romania, Marius Suranyi.