Car sales dropped 55% on the Romanian market during January - November, from over 300,000 units to under 140.000, an APIA report shows on Friday. Nevertheless, the car production increased by 13% against 2008, supported by Dacia exports, which has seen figures 56% bigger.

During the first 11 months, 138.000 new cars were sold, in comparison with 308,000 last year, including commercial vehicles. If only cars are taken into consideration, sales amounted to about 258,000 units in the first 11 months, against 128,000 in the same 2008 period. The commercial vehicles segment dropped even more, by 68%, from 47,000 to 15,000 units. The drop in buses has been even higher - minus 75%, from approximately 4,100 units to around 1,000.

Last month, the local branded car sales dropped 39% against the similar month in 2008, from 4,200 to 2,500. When it comes to foreign brands, car sales dropped 29%, from 10,200 to 7,200. Opel and Skoda sales dropped the most in the first 11 months of the year, by over 60%. Kia cee'd sold best, followed by Renault Clio, Ford Focus and Hyundai i10.