Romania`s largest automaker Dacia sees sales plunge 49.5%

However, Dacia remains the leader of the local car market, as its 30 percent market share slipped slightly over the similar period last year.

The automaker sold 21,542 cars in Romania in the first semester and 1,616 commercial vehicles. It also sold 130,668 vehicles abroad, a 60.4 percent boost compared to the first semester of 2008. 

Dacia sold 117,131 units in Europe in the first half, up 28.6 percent over the same period last year, according to data from the French auto constructors committee (CCFA). Its market share in Europe rose by 45 percent in the first six months year-on-year, to 1.6 percent. 

The global car industry faces significant drops in sales following worries on massive lay offs amid the global economic crisis. 

Dacia had to close gates for a while in December last year and January this year and let go of part of the employees after demand shrank because of the “brutal” fall of the car market, caused by the financial crisis.