The October registration data reads like a weather report for a country that has lost its appetite for new cars: 12,116 vehicles found buyers, down 5.6% year on year, and the 2026 tally has slipped 10.1% to 109,329 units. The National Institute of Statistics painted an even starker picture for the third quarter, with registrations falling 19.8% compared with the same period last year. Romania, long one of Europe's most dynamic car markets, has shifted firmly into reverse.
Yet inside the contraction there is one conspicuous winner. BYD broke its all-time volume record in Romania in October, continuing to carve out share while local behemoth Dacia skidded 18.2% and — as market watchers put it — finds itself in great difficulty again. The irony is sharp: the model now leading the year-to-date ranking is the humble Dacia Logan, proof that Romanian buyers still crave value, even as the brand that embodies it loses altitude. Every sale BYD takes is a sale that used to belong to someone else.
BYD, however, is thinking far beyond monthly league tables. Speaking at a press conference upon her arrival in Romania, BYD executive Li called the country a crucial market for the brand in Central and Eastern Europe, pointing to its automotive tradition, skilled workforce and strategic geographic position as reasons to double down rather than dip in and out.
