2021 started with two major pressure points for the automotive market: the pandemic and the raw materials crisis, which turned into the semiconductor crisis along the way, according to Autovit.ro. The car manufacturing industry’s “boiling points” were also sustained by the wave of electricity and natural gas prices.
Although it seemed that the car market was doing well, from the second half, 2021 started to look increasingly difficult, and the semiconductor crisis worsened and delays in the delivery of new car models began to appear, while the waiting time even reached a year.
At the same time, demand has started to increase in the market for used cars. Despite customer demand and interest, stocks of used cars could not be replenished to the same volumes, as the lack of new cars led owners of used cars to keep their old cars until they received the new ones, and thus not to put them on the second-hand car market yet.
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However, in 2021, the market for imported second-hand (SH) cars grew and domestic used car transactions had their best year ever.
The effect of the semiconductor crisis on the global industry is unprecedented, with some studies showing that worldwide losses will exceed $200 billion, representing the sales value of cars that could not be produced due to a lack of microprocessors. Some analyst firms say more than 7 million fewer cars will be produced worldwide, while others put the figure at more than 10 million.
The SH car market is also facing the same problems as the new car market, with the semiconductor crisis, because those who want a new car usually trade in their old one, which goes into the used car market. And as long as the new car has a very long time-to-market delay, the used cars don’t enter the circuit either and don’t feed the second-hand market.
According to the analysis of the data on the Autovit.ro platform, with the problems that the new car manufacturing industry has encountered, there have been two important effects on the used car market: the increase in demand for SH cars (there is approximately the same number of customers as last year but for smaller stocks of used cars) and the increase in prices, as an immediate effect of the increase in demand.
In 2021, more than 239,984 ads were published on Autovit.ro, 16% more than in 2020. And according to a 6-month analysis (May – October 2021) by Autovit.ro, there was an increase of about 14% (by €1,770) in the average price of diesel cars and 17.5% (by €2,694) in the prices of gas powered cars. The average price of electric cars on the platform increased by almost 8%, from €34,000 to €36,681.
New car market in 2021
The best month for new cars was August, with over 16,000 put in circulation, while the weakest month was January when barely 6,000 cars were launched. It was an interesting development, as six consecutive months – from March to August – the numbers in 2021 were higher than in 2020 and it looked like this year would bring an increase of more than 10-15% in the Romanian new car market.
From September to November, however, the new car market fell compared to 2020, mainly due to the semiconductor crisis, which caused some car models to be delivered with delays of more than 6 months. However, 2021 ended with a total of 121,208 new cars registered. Roughly on par with last year, which ended in Romania with a total of 127,000 new cars, but which also meant a 22% decrease compared to 2019.
The market for used import cars in 2021
The market for imported used cars increased from 381,495 units in 2020 to 395,759 units in 2021. The variation between the month with the highest and lowest volumes is much smaller than for new cars. The minimum was reached in December, with just over 27,000 cars, and the maximum was in March, when more than 36,000 second-hand import cars were registered in Romania.
The year 2021 ended with around 400,000 units, which is an increase of 3.74% compared to 2020, when the total was 381,495 cars. But even here, the 2020 figures meant a 14% decrease compared to 2019.
With this total of around 400,000 units, the market for SH cars is growing after 3 consecutive years of decline. The record for imported used cars was set in 2017 when 518,000 units were registered in Romania.
Re-registration market – 2021
For re-registrations (domestic SH car transactions) 2021 is the best year in history, with a total of 655,804 units, almost 20% more than in 2020. March, with 63,998 cars re-registered, was the month with the most cars registered in Romania’s history, a figure that has never been exceeded by either new or used cars from imports. Even the weakest month of the year saw very high figures: over 50,000 cars in November.
The year 2021 ended with a record total for domestic used cars: more than 655,000. This increase was mainly generated by the crisis in the new car market. Domestic buyers, who did not accept long delivery times, preferred to make massive purchases from the used car market.
2021 is the second year in which the car market for re-registrations exceeds 600,000 units, the first being 2019. In total, the volume of cars in 2021equals the combined volume of three consecutive years: 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Most popular car brands
The most popular new car is Dacia, with 27% of Romanians preferring the local brand. Surprises appear in the top 3, where the second place is occupied by Hyundai and the next by Toyota, each with almost 8% of the market. Ford and Volkswagen complete the top 5, Renault was in 7th place, while Suzuki was in 8th place in the ranking of the most popular car brands. Hyundai and Toyota were generally in the second half of the top 10 most popular brands in previous years.
According to DRPCIV data, the most popular brand for imported second-hand cars is Volkswagen with 25% of Romanians’ preferences. Audi and BMW each have 9%, and Ford and Opel each have around 7% popularity share.
The value of cars offered for sale on Autovit.ro last year was €3.5 billion, 40% more than in 2020. The number of ads was also higher compared to the previous year. More than 233,496 car ads were published on Autovit.ro, 13% more than in 2020.
The car brands with the most offers on Autovit.ro were Volkswagen, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Ford, the same as in 2020.
In terms of interest from users of the platform, they focused more on Volkswagen and BMW brands, accounting for 28% of all searches on Autovit.ro, followed by Audi and Mercedes with 13% and 11% of all searches respectively.
As in 2020, the popularity of SUVs remained high last year, being the type of car with the most ads on the platform.
The main fuel type of cars for sale on Autovit.ro remains diesel, but it is down 3% compared to 2020. At the same time, the number of gasoline-powered cars on the platform increased by 8% compared to 2020. But the most spectacular development compared to the previous year is electric and hybrid cars, which had a 45% higher presence on the site than in 2020.
What will happen in 2022
The market for new cars will grow as the semiconductor crisis is resolved. However, the market is not likely to return to the 160,000 new car level that was reached in the year before the pandemic.
2022 will be a new record year for electric cars, and this will be thanks to the substantial Rabla Plus Program subsidies, so 2022 will be the first full year of sales.
2021 was the year in which several volume carmakers – Ford, Opel, Peugeot – announced that around 2030 they would sell only full-electric cars in Europe. EU-wide, 2022 will be a record year for all-electric cars, with a total of around 800,000. And the number of electric cars on the second-hand market will also increase.
In Romania, the second-hand car market is unlikely to shrink in 2022. No tax increases for registration or ownership are expected in the first months of 2022, although recent political statements point to the possibility of taxes leading to a decrease in imports of imported HS cars.
Some of those who would have liked to buy new cars but were discouraged by long waiting times or high prices may also turn to the HS market.
The trend triggered by the pandemic will continue, so some of the people who are afraid of becoming infected with COVID-19 when using public transport will choose to buy their first car.