Radio România Internațional

Tag: sales

  • Record-high car output

    Record-high car output

    Last year, Romania saw a record-high increase in its domestic car output, to more than 4% above the total number of cars reported in 2019. According to Adrian Sandu, secretary general of the Romanian Carmakers Association, this increase was possible thanks to the efforts of the 2 local manufacturers, Dacia and Ford. The Romanian carmaker Dacia was set up in the mid-1960s, following a cooperation agreement with the French manufacturer Renault, which in 1999 took over 51% of the companys stock. In turn, Ford Romania, based in Craiova (south), is a subsidiary of the US producer Ford. Adrian Sandu believes the record is owing to the solutions identified by the 2 companies to the shortage of electronic components:



    Adrian Sandu: “The teams in both Dacia and Ford did their best to ensure a steady parts supply flow, so that, aided by a substantial demand, we were able to see a new record for the Romanian automotive industry, with some 513,000 units produced in 2023. We are hoping the year 2024 will bring further development, we hope for a new record to be reached this year, but this depends on the supply element, on steady or even growing demand for products made in Romania in the Western European and international market.ˮ



    On the other hand, the number of new automobiles registered in Romania went up 11.6% in 2023 compared to the previous year, with EV registrations witnessing an increase by over 25%, to a market share of nearly 24%, according to data made public by the General Directorate for Driving Licenses and Vehicles Registration and processed by the Association of Automobile Producers and Importers.



    According to statistics, the best-selling vehicle brand in Romania in 2023 was Dacia, with over 46,000 units, followed by Renault, with over 15,000. In 2023, Dacia Spring was also the best-selling EV brand in Romania, with nearly 6,900 units.



    It is also worth noting that in Europe, Dacia sales increased by some 17% last year, and the carmaker reached a market share of 4.3%, as against 4.2% in 2022, according to the figures released on Thursday by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The report covers EU member countries, the UK and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), namely Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. (AMP)


  • Romania’s art market in 2020

    Romania’s art market in 2020


    What were the performances of the art and collectible objects market in Romania in 2020? RRI talked to Alina Panico, PR Manager with the A10 by Artmark, about the most important auction houses and art transactions, about trends in the market and about the most sought-after Romanian fine artists:



    Alina Panico: “Operating in Romanias art market are 5 auction houses: A10 by Artmark, Alice, Quadro, Historic and Vicart. If we were to make an arithmetic means of the top 10 auction sales in 2020, we get an average of 116,250 euro. Compared to the figure for 2019, the difference is not substantial: about negative 2.36%, but in terms of the total market volume, preliminary data point to an approx. 20% increase in 2020 of the number and value of auction sales compared to 2019. Most of the Romanian art auctions involved heritage items, especially works by national “classics. The year 2020 brought a new all-time record for the Romanian art market: the painting “Peasant Woman with Distaff by Nicolae Grigorescu was sold for 220,000 euro. The national painter Nicolae Grigorescu is followed by great masters Ștefan Luchian and Nicolae Tonitza, whose works “Vase with carnations and “Irina sold for 125,000 Euro and 120,000 euro respectively. Heritage art was followed in 2020 by contemporary art, where the record was set by “untitled (memory) by the most sought-after Romanian artist internationally, Adrian Ghenie. His work was sold for 110,000 euro in 27 steps taking 10 minutes and 42 seconds, from an opening price of 20,000 euros.



    We also asked Alina Panico about the art authentication process. How certain can buyers be about a work of art that they purchase?



    Alina Panico: “Several aspects are taken into account in authenticating a painting: the themes, canvas, colour scheme, brush strokes, references in the media of the time or in exhibition catalogues. Collectibles are also certified by experts authorised by the Culture Ministry and qualified in various areas, such as fine art or decorative art. Expert reports look for more information than the artists signature. Subsequently, a qualified appraiser will tell us the financial value of that particular art work in the market. Only after taking all these steps can buyers be 100% certain of the authenticity of the works they intend to purchase.



    Alina Panico also told us about the profile of the art buyer in Romania, about collectors and the Romanian record in last years art market:



    Alina Panico: “We have smart and educated buyers, who continue to purchase art not only for its cultural value, but also as a financial instrument to preserve their savings at a time of great uncertainty. When you keep your savings in art works, you expect at the end of a crisis to get back at least the same amount of money you have invested. We have buyers who prefer an exclusively online platform, and given this years context, which encouraged the transfer of all art sales online, the number of active accounts opened by art collectors or investors tripled in a matter of months. We also have buyers who embrace the charity causes that we promote, and in 2020 we had as many as 6 charity auctions. If we take into account the doubling of the number of charity auctions in a year that has confused and tried all of us, and the 20% increase in transactions involving art works and collectible objects, the conclusion that may surprise many of us is that at difficult times many Romanians made a clear choice to support fundamental and long-standing values like art, cultural identity, national history and charity. There is no official standings of art collectors in Romania, but we could say that over the past few years people have come to understand that keeping art works in ones home is not necessarily conditional on substantial incomes. Romanians have started to purchase collectible objects, art works with medium financial costs. But in 2020 the record was set by the internationally acclaimed Romanian contemporary artist Adrian Ghenie, whose work in the “Lidless Eye series, deconstructing Van Goghs portrait, was sold by Sothebys in Hong Kong for more than 5 million euro. Ghenie also holds the second, third and fourth places in this top, with works sold at Sothebys or Christies for 2 to 4 million euro.



    At the end of our talk, Alina Panico drew a few conclusions on the year 2020 in the Romanian art market:



    Alina Panico: “So 2020 stayed on the upward trend that took shape in the Romanian art market a few years ago. With spectacular increases similar to those seen in previous years, 2020 was a year when players in the art market focused on setting new records and unexpected market increases, on finding an alternative market to invest their money, and art was a highly stable option compared to banks, for instance. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • January 4, 2021 UPDATE

    January 4, 2021 UPDATE

    TALKS The government of Romania will hold talks this week on the 2021 state budget. According to Liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu, the budget is going to be based on a 7% deficit and will be submitted for Parliament approval by the end of the month. According to the Prime Minister, the 7% target is proof of the firm commitment to fiscal consolidation without hindering the economy. The budget will allow for an extension to June 30th of economic measures triggered by the pandemic, including compensations to employees during the suspension of employment and financial support for employers. A state aid scheme for the hospitality industry and travel agencies, totalling 500 million euros and financed from EU funds, will also be in place. The government might also discuss this week a bill raising the national minimum wage, while all wages in state-owned companies are to be frozen at the level of December 2020.




    COVID-19 – In the past 24 hours Romania has reported over 3,100 fresh cases of Covid-19 infections, out of 10,000 tests carried out nationwide, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Monday. Roughly 644,000 people have been infected with the virus since the first case was reported in Romania in February last year. Out of these, 577,000 have recovered. Another 78 people died to the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since the onset of the pandemic to 16,057. 1,100 are in intensive care and the authorities are bracing up for a new wave of infections after the winter holidays. According to Raed Arafat, head of the Department for Emergency Situations, although the immunization campaign in Romania has commenced, prevention measures, like face covering, hand washing and social distancing remain mandatory. The vaccination campaign has been extended in Romania, which is to activate over 90% of the 376 centres for healthcare personnel and care centres. Nearly 13,500 medical workers were immunized in the first week since the vaccine was brought to Romania, with authorities targeting a daily 20,000 vaccination rate in the forthcoming period. The coordinator of the vaccination programme, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, says the second stage of the programme, targeting patients in care centres, may be initiated in mid-January.




    FLIGHTS The National Committee for Emergency Situations in Romania has updated their list of countries and areas in the COVID-19 red zone and decided to resume flights to and from the UK. People coming to Romania from this country are to isolate themselves for 10 days and must have taken a Covid-19 test at least 48 hours before their arrival. Flights to the UK were suspended on December 20th after a fresh, more contagious virus strain had been discovered in Britain. Italy has been included on the list of countries with a higher risk of transmission.




    AUTOMOTIVE The number of new car registrations went up 16% in Romania in December 2020 compared to December 2019, to 15,974 units, according to the Romanian Association of Automotive Makers (ACAROM). However, for the entire year 2020 the number dropped by 22%. As regards used vehicles registered in Romania for the first time, the number dropped by 5% in December 2020 compared to 2019, to 34,174 units. The best selling new cars in Romania in 2020 are Dacia, followed by Skoda, Renault, Volkswagen and Ford.




    ENERGY The European Commission Monday greenlighted the acquisition by the Europe Division of MIRA investment fund (Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets) of electricity production and supply assets held by the Czech group CEZ. In October 2020, CEZ Group announced the sale of its assets in Romania to MIRA, the worlds largest infrastructure management company. The transaction involved 7 companies, including electricity distribution and supply networks and Europes largest onshore wind farm, in Fântânele – Cogealac (south-eastern Romania).




    SAVINGS Four out of ten Romanians managed to save during the pandemic, as compared to two-thirds before. A survey conducted by the Romanian Research and Strategy Institute (IRES), and commissioned by the Romanian Banks Association, also shows that two-thirds of the household and corporate savings are in the local currency, mostly in short-term deposits. According to the survey, if they had money to spare, 28% of Romanians would invest in their or their familys education, 23% would keep the money in banks, 16% would start up a company and 10% would buy hard currency. The poll was conducted in December 2020.




    AIR FORCES MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft and around 90 US Air Force personnel are deployed for the next few months to ‘Gen. Emanoil Ionescu’ 71st Air Base in Câmpia Turzii, north-western Romania. According to the Romanian Defence Ministry, the Romanian Air Forces will provide technical, logistic and operational support to the MQ-9 Reapers intelligence, surveillance and recon missions as part of NATO operations. The US-Romanian cooperation is designed to strengthen the defence capacity and enhance security in the region. (tr. A. M. Popescu)