VIDEO The giants Dacia and Ford are preparing a blow of great proportions: Romanian factories enter the ‘turbo model’

New models launched in segments where demand is growing strongly support the production of the two factories in Romania. Dacia launched in production Duster III and preparing for the Great Man, Ford Otosan, in addition to the Puma face lift and the new Transit and Tourneo Courier, is also preparing the electric versions, Mediafax informs.

For the first time, Romania has the opportunity to produce more than 600,000 vehicles in 2024 thanks to the new models launched in production in Craiova and Mioveni.

According to a report by Ford Otosan, in 2024 the Craiova plant can produce between 250,000 and 270,000 cars, considering the expanded capacity to 272,000 units as early as 2023.

The Ford Otosan plant in Craiova, for the first time, reached a capacity utilization rate of 90% in the first half of this year, according to the Ford Otosan report, as the plant with the highest occupancy rate in the portfolio. According to the sources mentioned, the average utilization rate at the four factories of Ford Otosan, three of them in Turkey and one in Romania, was 81%.

Dacia is preparing Duster III and Bigster

Dacia has already started delivering the new Duster III, once the old generation went out of production in June, and the Mioveni factory is starting to prepare for the Bigster, its first compact SUV the manufacturer’s range.

The interest in launching Bigster in production also represents the accelerated growth of Renault’s business in Romania, with the car from a higher segment, the average price will be the highest in the range, and this will create a future -in addition to the company. For example, last year Automobile Dacia had a turnover of 5.25 billion euros with a production of 322,000 cars.

Regarding the production of the factory in Mioveni, the launch of the production of the new Duster III will support this year’s volumes, even if they will not rise to 350,000 units, which is the maximum capacity.

Mihai Bordeanu, managing director, Dacia Brand South East Europe & country head Romania, for ZF announced in an interview that in 2024 production at Mioveni will be close to maximum capacity, and now the company working on preparations for the Bigster, the first compact SUV of the brand. Their series production will begin in 2025, and the car will be officially launched at the end of October at the Paris Motor Show.

Ford increases production in Craiova

In the first half of the year, Ford Otosan produced 82,204 Ford Puma cars, down 15% compared to S1/2023, as the production of the new Puma facelift also started in the first semester, and nearly added 40,400. Transit and Tourneo Courier utility vehicles.

In addition, of the annual production capacity of Ford Otosan, of 746,500 cars, 36% of which is located in Craiova, after investments of almost 500 million euros in Romania increased from 250,000 to 272,000 cars per year. In addition to this they have the capacity to produce 350,000 engines per year. In total, the Craiova plant can produce up to 189,000 Ford Pumas and 100,000 Courier utility vehicles annually, once deliveries of their electric versions begin in the first quarter of 2025.

Also according to Ford Otosan, demand for Puma and Courier was so high in June that, for the first time, Craiova exported more vehicles than the three factories in Turkey – Craiova exported 24,650 units, and the Turkey exported 22,167. On the other hand, it is also the same month in which Ford Otosan Craiova passed the factories in Turkey.

For the first time since the Craiova plant produced for the Ford brand, it has passed the threshold of 40 percent of the total domestic production of passenger cars, according to ZF calculations based on data from the Association of Automobile Manufacturers in Romania (ACAROM).

In the first six months of 2024, the Ford Otosan plant in Craiova produced 122,380 units, up 26% compared to the first half of 2023, this is the highest number ever achieved for the plant in the first six months of the year. At the same time, this is the first time that three models are assembled in Craiova – Puma Transit and Tourneo Courier. Of these, 82,000 represent Puma and 30,310 Courier utility models.

Ford’s volume also represents 42% of domestic car production, the first time the percentage has crossed the 40% threshold. Before that, in 2020 Ford reached the level of 40%, but in the market situation affected by the pandemic. On the other hand, if in the first half of the year Ford launched Otosan Transit and Tourneo Courier in production, in the middle of the year the new update Puma was also introduced.

Ford is one of the ten largest companies in Romania, with a turnover of 13.6 billion lei in 2023, down 2% compared to 2022 and is on the export podium together with Dacia and Star Assembly (Daimler). On the other hand, Dacia produced almost 170,000 cars, a slight decrease compared to the number in the first semester of 2023.

At Dacia there was also a production reset, with the plant ready for Duster III, and Renault also started Jogger production in Morocco. From 2025, Mioveni will go into production together with the Duster and the future Bigster, the first compact SUV from the Romanian brand range.

In June, Dacia and Ford produced 46,000 units, up 11% compared to June 2023, of which 24,500 for Dacia, down 5% and 21,500 for Ford Otosan, up 31% compared to June 2023.

The interest in launching Bigster in production also represents the accelerated growth of Renault’s business in Romania, with the car from a higher segment, the average price will be the highest in the range, and this will create a future -in addition to the company. For example, last year Automobile Dacia had a turnover of 5.25 billion euros with a production of 322,000 cars.