New passenger car sales in Romana to rise 1.7% in 2024 – PwC

Total car production in Romania is forecast to rise by 8.5% on the year in 2024, driven by LCVs, despite an expected fall in passenger car production by 7.1%, PwC said in a press release, quoting the findings of its PwC Autofacts report that analyses five Central European markets - Romana, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

Despite a 10.2% annual drop in passenger car sales during the first quarter of 2024, over 30,000 units were sold for a second consecutive quarter in Romania. Dacia remained the top-selling brand, while Tesla doubled its sales, climbing eleven positions and making it into the top ten.

“Signs of market recovery appeared in April, with an increase of over 34%, but it should be noted that this month coincided with the end of the first session of the Rabla Plus programme. The good news for the automotive sector is that production is on a positive trend, especially in the light commercial vehicles segment," Daniel Anghel, partner and leader of automotive industry at PwC Romania, said.

Total car sales in the five analysed countries are expected to rise by an annual 4.6% this year, with Hungary to register the highest growth rate of 8.7%. Light vehicle production in the five countries is projected to edge down by 0.8% year-on-year in 2024, with the output of the passenger car segment forecast to fall by 4% despite an anticipated 35% rise in LCV production.

Electric vehicle production across the five countries is projected to jump 15.6% in 2024, before soaring by 208.4% by 2030. The Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) segment is expected to register the weakest performance, with production to decrease by 2.3% on the year. Plug-in Hybrids (PHEV) and Full Hybrids (FHEV), on the other hand, are expected to offset the drop in BEV production, recording annual growth rates of 24% and 27.9%, respectively.