Romania's automobile production contracted by some 40% in May compared to the same month in 2019, to under 29,400 cars, Ziarul Financiar reported.

The Dacia and Ford factories resumed production on May 4, almost two months after they were closed due to the pandemic.

Due to the sluggish European market, Dacia resumed production in two shifts and Ford in one shift, compared to three shifts under normal conditions. Subsequently, both Dacia and Ford increased production to three and two shifts, respectively, but they still haven't reached the pre-pandemic volumes.

In the first five months of the year, car production in Romania decreased by a third, to 152,400 units. Dacia's production went down by 44% to almost 90,000 units. Meanwhile, Ford's output was 5% higher than in the first five months of 2019, as it started the production of the new model Puma last autumn.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Media.ford.com)