The Bucharest Auto Show

Launched in 1993, the Bucharest Auto Show was held every year until 1996 and, starting in 1997, once every two years.

Organised by the Association of Car Makers and Importers, the fair was, until 2007, part of the calendar of the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.

In 2011, the fair again became a national affair. Over 200 car models will be on display for the next ten days, some of which can be seen for the first time in Romania, while others are already on the market.

The local manufacturer Dacia, which has just launched its stepway versions for the Dokker and Lodgy models at the Paris International Auto Show this year, will not be present in Bucharest.

Visitors to the show will also be treated to special events, such as an exhibition of vintage cars.

Another interesting event taking place during the fair is a social project entitled “From Zero to Zorro”.

A vehicle will be dismembered to the tiniest pieces and then reassembled and sold, the money raised being donated to a home for orphan children. 80,000 visitors are expected.

The exhibiting manufacturers include Ford, which has a car factory in Craiova, in the south of Romania, as well as the German brands Opel and Volkswagen, which hold the biggest shares of the second-hand car market.

The fair also brings together producers of car parts, accessories and equipment, a sector that has seen a lot of growth recently at global level.

In Romania, this area is one of the driving engines of the local economy.

Together with car manufacturing, the over 600 different companies specialising in car parts, accessories and equipment account for 11% of the Gross Domestic Product and a quarter of Romania’s exports.

The increase is the result of Romanians’ growing interest in the auto sector and is also reflected in the total number of car deliveries in Romania, which went up 27% in the first 9 months of the year compared to the same period last year. Romania is thus 4th in Europe in this respect.

This growth is also visible across Europe, with the strongest economies on the continent reporting various increases: France 2.1%, Germany 2.9%, Italy 3.6%, Spain 17.2% and Britain 9.1%.