“In the current economic context, clients target mostly discounts. Everybody expects discounts of up to 80 percent, but this is out of the question. All importers have repositioned their brands on the market, and will offer no higher discounts than at present. If they do, it means they will cut quality, and the brand image is far more important in the current economic conditions,” Albulescu said.
Car sales dropped by over 50 percent in the past three months, which convinced car dealers to come up with discounts of some 30 percent, to reduce stocks which are raising expenses. The new car market fell 65 percent in January 2009 year-on-year, to 8,178 units.
Albulescu added that a €100 discount may seem insignificant for a client, but it means a great effort for the dealer. “A €100 discount for a car is not much for a client, but at 20,000 cars, it means €2 million, the equivalent of an investment in a new service or a new center,” said the representative of the import brand with the highest sales in Romania.
