Romania's Car Output May Advance 75% by 2014, Boosted by Ford, PwC Says

Car output in Romania will probably rise 75 percent by 2014 as Ford Motor Co. boosts investment in the country and Renault SA increases production capacity, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Production may reach 520,000 vehicles a year by 2014 compared with 296,300 vehicles in 2009, making Romania the third-fastest growing market in central Eastern Europe, after Ukraine and Russia, PwC said today in an e-mailed statement.

Romania, the European Union’s second-poorest country, is counting on industry and exports to help the economy recover from its worst recession on record. The decline in gross domestic product slowed to an annual 0.5 percent in the second quarter from 2.6 percent in the previous three months, helped by sales abroad and manufacturing.

The Romanian unit of France’s Renault was one of the largest exporters in 2009 as government incentives for car purchases in western Europe boosted demand for low-cost Dacia models made at the Pitesti plant. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said Aug. 11 that it plans to make 225,000 vehicles a year at its Craiova factory in 2013.

“We anticipate a strong growth rhythm for the Romanian auto industry in the next five years, as recent investments in the Craiova plant will become fully operational and the Pitesti plant will have its production capacity increased to meet rising demand for newly launched car models,” Ionut Simion, head of the automotive group of PwC Romania, said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andra Timu in Bucharest at atimu@bloomberg.net.

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