EUROPE’S BIGGEST COMPANIES

TOP 100
companies
and Sandero, as well as the Duster Edition
2016, including the new Sce 115 petrol engine
and connected Media-Nav Evolution navigation
system.
What are, in your opinion, the main
factors influencing the company's
operations in a positive way this
year? What about the main obstacles?
The market in Romania in 2015 was invigorated
by the RABLA governmental programme for
national car fleet renewal, which remained key
for the automotive producers and importers.
It is a governmental scheme which refreshes
the national car fleet, one of the oldest in
Europe, to the benefit of all participants in
traffic, to the benefit of road safety and of
the environment. It is a useful programme
for the Romanian industry and for the jobs in
Romania, including dealerships. Trading new
cars is a business that brings income to the
budget and a business that ensures jobs.
There are a few things that need to be improved
in order to facilitate any company's
operations in Romania. The first one is the
infrastructure. Every week, more than 2,100
trucks - of Dacia and our suppliers - drive between
Nadlac and Pitesti, which takes them
up to 10 hours. We estimated that this leads
to an additional cost of 30 euro for each Dacia
vehicle. We appreciate it that the Pitesti-
Sibiu project is a priority for the Romanian
authorities. It is now essential to speed up
the construction of this highway, aiming at
completion by 2020 at the latest.
Then, talking about legislation, mainly the Labour
and Tax Codes, any changes can affect
our operations. We communicated our positions
on these important issues to the Romanian
government, stressing the need to reinforce
our competitiveness on the market.
What are the company's main
investment projects in mid-term
perspective?
The company continues to invest in industrial
projects which enabled Dacia to increase
the production capacities of the Vehicle and
Powertrain plants, such as aluminum high
pressure diecasting, 6 speed manual transmission
capacity increase, mechanical parts,
progressive introduction of robots, etc.
In 2015 we will invest around 100 million euro
in the Mioveni plants in order to support the
introduction of new models and variants, as
well as continue the modernization of the
industrial platform, with a focus on working
conditions, safety and automation.
Do you plan to increase the plant's
output capacity and staff?
Today, the output capacity of the Mioveni
plant is 350,000 vehicles per year. There are
no plans to increase it in the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, we may increase the production
of powertrain units - engines, transmission
- based on market demand.
How many vehicles does Dacia plan
to manufacture this year, how does
this compare to 2014?
Production in 2015 will increase compared to
the last year. We will most probably enjoy a
record production level this year. In addition
to complete vehicles production, we also
started significant shipments of painted
bodies and components to the new Renault
plant in Oran, in Algeria, for SKD assembly of
Logan there.
What sales volume and market share
do you target in Romania this year?
As of end of June 2015, Dacia’s sales in Romania
totaled 18,369 units, up by more than
25% compared to the first half of 2014, while
our market share reached 35.3%, showing a
3 percentage points progress over the same
period of last year.
How do you see the overall car market
in Southeastern Europe (SEE)
developing in the next few years?
What about Dacia's performance in
SEE?
The figures advanced so far by the Belgiumbased
Association of European Car Manufacturers
at the end of the first half of 2015
show a small increase of car sales in this region.
We cannot make an estimation for the
whole year. Still, we are confident that 2015
will end with a new sales record for the Dacia
brand.
100 mln
euro
Dacia's planned investments
in Mioveni plants in 2015
We do not plan to increase the
vehicle production capacity of
the Mioveni plant but we may
increase the production
of powertrain units
13