Romania recorded last year the highest growth of car production in Europe, given that six of the ten largest producing countries registered declines.
The Ford plant in Romania reached a historic peak in 2013: it manufactured 68 339 cars, the highest level ever recorded by the production facilities in Craiova.
The Dacia plants in Mioveni worked at maximum speed, reaching 342 600 cars manufactured last year, representing a new record.
Overall, in 2013 Romania recorded a production of 411,000 cars, an increase of 26% compared to the previous year, being ranked for the first time on the 8th place in Europe and surpassing, also for the first time, Belgium and Italy, countries that experienced production declines in 2013.
If the increasing domestic production continued this year, Romania could pass in front of Poland, reaching number seven in Europe, in the leader position of the second echelon of automobile manufacturers. It's very unlikely to be able to climb in the near future above that position.
However, between Romania and Poland a competition could start to take over the investors and manufacturers from the automotive market in Russia, if they decided to leave this market.
The heads of Ford Motor, Renault, General Motors and other car manufacturers – are following closely the impact of rising Russian-Ukrainian tensions in Crimea.
It becomes increasingly evident that capital exposure outside NATO and the EU borders implies a growing risk. Fears have taken shape all the more since a Russian senator recently stated that the Russian Parliament was working hard on a bill that would allow the seizure of property and assets of U.S. and European companies operating in Russia, in response to possible economic sanctions of the West for the invasion of Crimea.