More than 6,500 heavy trucks were sold in the first nine months of 2007, up 143 percent year-on-year.
“Our estimates indicate that sales on the heavy truck segment will exceed 9,000 units in 2007, but will not reach the 10,000-vehicle threshold,” Razvan Bogdan, Marketing Manager of EVW Holding, importer of the DAF truck brand, told Business Standard. If this forecast is accurate, the total value of this market will amount to €450-700 mln in 2007, according to Business Standard estimates. The EVW Holding official said the upward trend in sales on this segment began in 2004, with growth due mainly to construction.
“This year’s sales boom can be explained by virtue of the country’s joining the European Union, which lead to the removal of restrictions for transporters operating outside Romania, and growth registered in the construction sector, where these trucks are intensely used,” said Razvan Manolescu, Marketing Manager of Cefin, importer of Iveco trucks. Another reason for growth on the truck market is the renewal of the auto park. “Until 2007, Romania had one of the oldest truck parks in Europe, dominated by the Roman brand, but their maintenance became a problem,” Manolescu added. The Iveco brand registered the most spectacular evolution in terms of sales, with 1,682 heavy trucks sold in the first nine months of 2007, a 253 percent annual increase. Volvo ranked second, with 1,567 sold units, triple from 2006.
Romania has become the largest new car market in Central and Eastern Europe, with sales exceeding 256,000 cars.
