Central Europe Automotive Report
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AUSTRIA BULGARIA CZECH REPUBLIC HUNGARY CENTRAL POLAND ROMANIA SLOVAK REPUBLIC SLOVENIA EUROPE COVERING THE AUTOMOTIVE CENTRAL EUROPEAN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY REPORT February 1997 Volume II, Issue 2 ISSN 1088-1123 ™ ture (1995-1997) amounts Romania to USD 500,000,000. As of November 1996, the com- PROFILE pany had 4,800 employees. ROMANIA Commercial Auto Leasing Daewoo & Dacia Battle for Market Daewoo plans to invest Hits Romania an additional USD 550 mil- Share; Suppliers Modernizing lion (USD 77 million in cash and USD 473 million AutoLease is Romania’s first dedicated auto in equipment) in its leasing company. The company will provide Market Highlights Romanian factory. Daewoo hopes to pro- 2-year cross-border finance leases to interna- duce 300,000 cars annually by the year 2000. tional and Romanian companies doing business In early 1997, Romanian truck manufactur- “We are not going to make any compromise in Romania. er Roman S.A. will put into service a new on the quality of the cars produced in flexible crankshaft manufacturing line. The Craiova,” stresses Mr. Dong-Kyu Park, the Mike Morris, line will use machines imported from the company’s Chairman. (See CEAR Vol. 1, Founder and companies Boeringer, Hegenscheidt, Naxos- Issue 3 for a Profile interview of Mr. Park). CEO of Union, and Adcole. Roman also plans to Daewoo also intends to start assembly (SKD) AutoLease, is a begin production of 110-115 hp truck engines of 1-ton light trucks at ARO’s facilities in Harvard MBA that meet Euro-2 standards. The engines are Campulung Muscel. and financier currently being tested at the A.V.L. Institute with 20 years in Austria. Daewoo is constructing a new building to experience in house its aluminum alloys casting line. The managing new Early this year Roman also expects to estab- line will have a yearly capacity of 200,000 ventures, two of lish a new joint venture, Roman-International cylinder heads and 300,000 transaxle hous- them in the ings. The building will be completed in May Navistar, to produce 370 hp engines. Roman Mike Morris financial services has an annual turnover of approximately USD 1997 and production is expected to begin in sector. He was a 70 million and over 14,000 employees. Some November 1997. Daewoo also is developing member of the first delegation of American busi- 70% of the company’s shares are owned by the its engine and transaxle shop. Equipment for nessmen invited to Romania after the 1989 State Ownership Fund. the shop will be supplied from Korea, Japan, revolution, is a frequent media commentator on and Germany in 1997 and production is business opportunities in Romania, is chairman of On October 10, 1996, Romanian car manu- expected to begin in February 1998. the Special Projects Committee of the Romanian- facturer Rodae Automobile S.A. changed its American Chamber of Commerce, and is senior name to Daewoo Automobile Romania S.A. The recently established (October 1996) advisor to the Romanian Development Agency The company is a joint venture between Daewoo Auto Trading, Daewoo’s sales arm, is and the Romanian Privatization Agency. Daewoo (51%) and Automobile Craiova S.A. focused on the fast-selling AVIA trucks, (49%). The company currently produces the assembled in Prague. Morris came to Romania three years ago and following Daewoo models: Cielo 1.5 liter, created a company, the only one in Romania, that Espero (semi-knock down), and Tico (semi- Technology upgrading at Victoria supplies some 3000 products for gas station con- knock down). Cielo production capacity is Floresti—currently number one amongst venience stores throughout the country. 100,000 units per year, and for 1997 the com- Romanian small and medium-size tire manu- pany plans to produce 78,000 Cielos. facturers—has led to a substantial Daewoo’s first stage investment in the ven- Continued on page 2 Continued on page 11 CENTRAL Feature Country Continued From page 1 Vesta Investments SRL is the only Romanian company authorized by the EUROPE improvement of product quality. The company Romanian Automotive Register to produce AUTOMOTIVE complies with the European Union’s standards reflecting and fluorescent license plates in REPORT ECE30 and FMWSS, offers a 1 year/60,000 km compliance with European Union standards. tire warranty, and reports that no complaints The company produces the plates under a February 1997 have been registered for a 250,000 batch 3M license. Volume II, Issue 2 exported in 1995 to the UK. The new M 800 Formerly Published as the (175/70 TR 13) model has been accepted by Central Europe Business Report Daewoo Automobile Romania for its export- Romanian Light Commercial From August 1995 to April 1996 oriented production, and the D 350 (155/70 Vehicle Imports Publisher Ronald F. Suponcic, Jr. TR 13) and M 800 (165/70 TR 13) models are Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey A. Jones, Esq. currently being tested. 1996 Research Assistant Michal Sastinsky Company 3rd Quarter 9 months An extensive marketing study of the Citroen 8 19 Central Europe Automotive Report™, 4800 Romanian car market forecasts domestic C15 1 2 Baseline Rd., Suite E104-340, Boulder, CO production of 312,000 cars by the year 2004. Berlingo 1 1 80303 USA, is published monthly, except According to the study, 120,000 units will be Jumper 6 16 August, by Central European Trade & manufactured by Dacia, 160,000 by Daewoo Marketing, L.L.C. in Boulder, Colorado. Fiat 44 97 Automobile Romania, and 32,000 by the off- Fiorino 5 9 road vehicle manufacturer ARO. The mission of the Central Europe Scudo 1 1 Ducato 38 87 Automotive Report is to provide market, Vehicle starter manufacturer investment, and business information that Ford 18 32 Acumulatorul Bucharest is investing USD can lead to joint venture, greenfield invest- Fiesta 1 1 15 million into refurbishing its starter pro- ment, and product distribution Transit 17 31 duction facilities. When the project is opportunities in the automotive sectors of completed, the company will have the capac- Hyundai 5 11 Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovak H 100 4 10 ity to produce some 500,000 Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania. Porter 1 1 maintenance-free units per year. The Central Europe Automotive Report Acumulatorul is also implementing an ISO Kia 9 38 intends for its information to be used to 9001 quality assurance system which it Besta 7 35 increase foreign investment in the Central Ceres 2 3 expects to have in place by the second half European auto sector; improve the avail- of 1997. Mercedes Benz 27 65 ability, quality, and competitiveness of Vito 5 0 products and raw materials available to Sprinter 22 65 The South Korean car maker Hyundai Central European auto manufacturers and competes on the Romanian market with its suppliers; strengthen existing Central Mitsubishi n/a 20 peer Daewoo through its newly established L 200 n/a 11 European companies by introducing foreign Romanian branch, Hyundai AutoRomania. L 300 n/a 9 capital, technology, and expertise; and pro- The company has successfully established a vide opportunities for auto manufacturers Nissan 2 4 leasing system in Romania, developed a net- and suppliers to expand their markets. Urvan 0 2 work of dealers, and built a state-of-the-art Vanette 1 1 The entire contents of this magazine are service center. Trade 1 1 copyrighted by Central European Trade & Marketing, L.L.C. with all rights reserved. Peugeot 15 48 Wheel maker Roti Auto Dragasani has Reproduction or use in any form, without invested over USD 1 million in a new system Renault 65 86 permission is prohibited. Annual subscrip- that will improve its wheels’ resistance to Express 50 61 tions are $195 in the United States & Asia Trafic 11 14 and $155 in Europe. corrosion. The system has a 400 wheel per Master 4 11 hour capacity and it accounts for a minimum resistance to saline fog of 1,000 hours. Skoda 2 5 Ad & Subscription Sales “Coupled with new paint shops and with a Felicia P.U. 2 5 Tel: [1](303) 784-5653 polymerization furnace, [the new system] Toyota 20 n/a US Fax: (800) 684-3393 allows us access [to] the most demanding Hi Ace 20 n/a International Fax: [1](510) 927-2630 markets,” said CEO Eugen Armasoiu. Volkswagen 7 37 Email: [email protected] Armasoiu also noted that in 1997 Roti plans T 4 6 34 Europe Office: to buy a USD 400,000 computerized mini- LT 0 2 mum point marking device. These Caddy 1 1 Tel. [42](7) 374-431 investments should improve product quality Fax [42](7) 361-085 Total 222 462 ul. L. Derera 2, I./48 and Armasoiu expects the company to 830 01 Bratislava Slovak Republic obtain ISO 9000 certification in 1997. Source: APIA 2 February 1997 • CENTRAL EUROPE AUTOMOTIVE REPORT © Central European Trade & Marketing, L.L.C. 1997 First called Dacia 500 and then Lastun, the small capacity Romanian car produced late in the 1980s by Mecatim Timisoara CENTRAL ORDER TODAY! might have a future after all. A new, mod- ernized model—INA 900—is to be launched EUROPE TO SUBSCRIBE, FAX by a consortium of Romanian companies in THIS PAGE TO 1-800-684-3393 1997. Production of 20,000 cars per annum AUTOMOTIVE FROM OUTSIDE THE US depends on a USD 15 million cash input. FAX TO [1] (510) 927-2630 The “voiturette” has a 967cmc, 40 hp engine, a maximum speed of 142 km/h, and fuel con- REPORT sumption of 4.3 liters per 100 km at 60 km/h. The car will sell for about USD 3,000. SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORMCEAR Chrysler has opened an authorized dealer Name in Romania.