Page 100 - bne IntelliNews Southeastern Europe Outlook 2025

The planned production capacity is 120,000-130,000 tonnes per year. Most of the production will be for export. There is no capacity in Romania to produce paper for bags. This is a very specialised field, a market niche that needs to be satisfied and which is now only covered by imports.
Automobile industry
In the first ten months of 2024, Romanian automobile factories assembled 466,838 vehicles, reflecting a 9.8% increase compared to the same period in 2023, when 425,090 units were produced. Year-to-date figures show Dacia leading with 259,676 units, followed by Ford Otosan with 207,162 units.
The Ford Otosan plant in Craiova reached its highest-ever monthly production in October, assembling over 27,600 vehicles, according to data from the Romanian Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACAROM). This marks a milestone for the facility, which has seen rapid growth in production volumes.
In the first ten months of 2024, the plant produced 207,162 vehicles, surpassing the annual threshold of 200,000 units for the first time. This is a significant increase from 2023 when it assembled 190,000 units over the entire year.
At the current pace, Ford Otosan is on track to achieve a total of 250,000 vehicles in 2024.
Tyre manufacturing
The opening of Nokian Tyres' €650mn production facility in Oradea in September 2024, followed by the start of series production in 2025, is set to position Romania among the world’s major tyre producers.
Continental, Pirelli and Michelin collectively reported over RON14.3bn ($3.1bn) in business activities in 2023, a 2.5% increase from the previous year. Michelin emerged as the most prominent player, with a business volume exceeding RON5.3bn, including the production of both tyres and metal cores for tyres.
5.9.4 Major Sectors & Companies
Romanian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) recorded 198 transactions during the first nine months (9M) of 2024, marking an 8.2% increase compared to the same period last year (183 deals), EY said in a quarterly report.
The estimated value of Romanian M&A activity rose by 22.3% y/y (chart), reaching $5.2bn versus $4.2bn in 9M23, and was primarily driven by robust activity in the power and utilities sector.
The value of disclosed transactions during 9M24 remained relatively unchanged at $2.5bn (-0.1% y/y).
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