American cars preferred in leasing, compared to Italian and Asian cars

Some 80 percent of expensive American cars are leased by Romanians, while leasing is preferred by only 20 percent of buyers of Italian cars, according to data from the Association of Automotive Manufacturers and Importers (APIA).

The best-sold cars in leasing are Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, while BMW, Fiat or Hyundai are paid for in cash or installments.

One third of a total of 120,000 imported cars in the January-July period were acquired in leasing. For cars produced outside the European Union, the buyer must also pay customs tax.

"As a rule, American cars are acquired in leasing, because the customs taxes are quite high, which is not the case with Asian cars, often produced in Europe, making customs taxes zero. For clients it is normal that they should prefer to pay taxes only on the residual 20 percent value. This is why leasing is quite high also for Chinese cars, far from the cheapest on the Romanian market," according to a declaration by Alin Tapalaga, General Manager of Porsche Romania.

Business Standard