Dacia director warns Romania risks losing Renault, Ford Otosan production over competitiveness

The Dacia official said Romania is losing its competitiveness in the automotive industry, as energy prices have doubled compared with the pandemic period. He reminded that the automotive industry accounts for one-third of Romania’s exports, 14% of GDP, and directly and indirectly supports approximately 200,000 jobs.

Romania is currently sixth in Europe in terms of car production, but the local car industry has become less competitive in recent years due to a number of factors, chief among them energy costs, which have doubled over the pandemic period, according to Bordeanu.

He added that Romania has already lost two important opportunities in the automotive industry: production of the first electric Dacia model, which will be manufactured in Slovenia, and the Dacia Striker model, which will be produced in Turkey.

Romania’s declining competitiveness could further affect the automotive industry. If competitiveness problems are not resolved quickly, through measures to reduce energy costs and flexibilize the labor market, the car industry could lose 25% of “everything,” meaning turnover, employees, and so on, according to the Dacia representative.

“The Renault Group can produce cars in Romania, but it can also produce them elsewhere, so each company makes a strategic decision based on efficiency and competitiveness,” Bordeanu said on Antena 3.

He also highlighted the need for a car fleet renewal program and a boost for external competitiveness. Previously, the company official said Dacia’s production will fall by a double-digit percentage due to declining demand.

“The electric segment is growing a lot in Europe, not in Romania. But this traditional Dacia segment, the combustion engine one, is not growing, while the electric segment is growing. This, in practice, leads us to a decline in our production somewhere in the double digits. Yes, production is falling; the consequence is that we will have to lay people off,” he said.

Mihai Bordeanu announced that the first measures regarding reducing energy costs are beginning to be taken.

“Next week we will sign a contract for photovoltaic panels that we will install on all the roofs. In practice, we will become prosumers. We will also consider batteries, but for now we are only talking about panels, which will cover around 8% of our energy needs,” he said.