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Renault's Dacia Idles Plant for Two Weeks

Renault's Romanian brand Dacia is again fighting against the global economic crisis with a cost-cutting measure, this time a two-week production halt that will occur between January 26 and February 8. According to a statement of the Romanian automaker, the French parent company took the decision to shut down its production due to the fall in demand, obviously caused by the decreasing market, with Dacia's December 2008 sales dropping 55 percent when compared to the same month of the previous year. This means the company delivered 3,622 units on its local market, according to figures provided by Dacia.

“The Romanian new car market’s dramatic decline is triggered by the financial crisis and limited access to credit, by the invasion of imported second-hand cars and by the indecision of clients against the potential change of the pollution tax,” Dacia said in a press statement.

The Romanian car market started its declining trend since October 2008, with sales falling by 30 percent in this month and 55
percent in November. Even though the aforementioned financial crisis and Romania's credit crunch were the main causes of poor sales, the imported second-hand cars also played a very important role in the new car market decline.

No less than 54,712 used cars were sold in December 2008, Dacia said, with a total of 300,891 second-hand units delivered the whole year. This means that used cars grew up 471 percent when compared to December 2007. “Concretely, since November 2008, for one new vehicle sold, three second-hand vehicles have been registered,” the Romanian automaker said in the statement.

Dacia currently owns a single production facility in Mioveni, with a total workforce of more than 12,000 employees. The Romanian automaker said that all workers who'll remain at home during the production halt will receive 85 percent of their wages.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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