Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovenia - part of six countries group where car production increased last year

Out of the 39 states that produced over 10,000 cars last year, only six recorded production growth. Romania is one of them. The other five are China, India, the Czech Republic, Taiwan and Slovenia, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA). The global car production dropped 13.5% last year, from around 70 million automobiles to 60 million. For the first time, China was world leader.

China produced 13.79 million cars, namely a 48% plus against 2008. Japan came second, with 7.9 million units, dropping 31%, while the US ranked third, with 5.71 million units, a 34% cut in production. Just like in China, where there is little monitor, the Indian market, too, has got potential and the production went up to 20.9%, to around 296,000 units. In the Czech Republic, the automobile production came close to a million units, while in Poland it neared 900,000 units.

At the other pole are the countries where the car production plummeted. For example, in Ukraine, the production dropped by 84%, from around 420.000 cars in 2008 to below 70,000 last year. Russia, too, had had a bad year, with its production recording a 60% minus, from over 1.7 million automobiles to 722,000. In Austria, the production dropped by 53% and in other countries, like Hungary, Sweden, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands and Egypt, the cuts were bigger than 40%.