Decline in Romanian automobile manufacturing by 6% during the initial five months of 2025, with a modest resurgence noted in May.
In a challenging automotive landscape, Romania's car production dipped by 6% year-on-year in the first five months of 2025, according to recent data. The decline was primarily attributed to a significant drop in production at Dacia's Mioveni plant, where output fell by 11%.
Despite the overall downturn, Ford Otosan's Craiova plant managed to buck the trend, registering a substantial 63% year-on-year increase in production. In May alone, the plant produced 24,340 vehicles, more than double the number produced in the same month last year. This marked growth accounted for 47.5% of the total vehicles produced in May 2025, making Craiova the leading contributor to Romania's car manufacturing.
In contrast, Dacia's Mioveni plant, which accounted for 52.3% of the total vehicles produced in May 2024, saw a decrease in production, with 26,854 vehicles assembled in May 2025. This represents a 3% decrease compared to the same month in 2024.
The broader context reveals an ongoing contraction in the Romanian car market, with sales falling 12.8% up to May 2025. Dacia, the market leader, experienced a 22.2% drop in sales, significantly impacting production schedules at their main plant. Factors contributing to this market contraction include reduced demand, significant declines in electric vehicle sales, and the aftereffects of subsidy cuts in 2024.
New car registrations in Romania also fell sharply by 50.1% in June 2025 compared to the previous year, signalling ongoing weak market conditions that likely pressured production volumes.
In summary, the decrease in Romania's car production in early 2025 is primarily due to reduced demand leading to lower sales, particularly for Dacia. This reflects broader market weaknesses and a contracting automotive industry environment in Romania. The slight production increase at Ford Otosan's Craiova plant could indicate more stable or localized demand for their models but was insufficient to reverse the overall downward trend.
In the face of a contracting automotive industry environment in Romania, finance plays a crucial role in shaping production outcomes, as demonstrated by the significant drop in production at Dacia's Mioveni plant, which was partially due to subsidy cuts in 2024. On the other hand, the finance sector also supports growth, as evidenced by Ford Otosan's Craiova plant's substantial increase in production, which was possible due to favorable financial circumstances in the transportation and automotive sectors.
