Dacia will halt Mioveni plant production for two days as European sales drop 9.7%

Two-day production halt at Mioveni

Dacia will suspend vehicle assembly at its Mioveni plant on Friday, 9 October, and Monday, 12 October 2026. The automaker notified staff through an internal memo issued by Renault Group Romania, citing the need to align production output with declining customer orders across Europe. Employees not scheduled to work during the two-day pause will stay home while receiving standard pay guaranteed under their collective labor agreement. Together with the intervening weekend, vehicle manufacturing at the facility will pause for four consecutive days. Sindicatul Automobile Dacia leader Viorel Ungureanu described the communication from plant executives.

The company management informed us that because of the order book, production must stop on those two days.

Maintenance and non-assembly operations

While vehicle assembly lines stand idle, support operations will continue across the Mioveni complex to prepare for the restart of production. Plant personnel will carry out maintenance on machinery, perform technological cleaning, and execute 5S workplace organization procedures. Dedicated crews will continue fabricating and dispatching spare parts, unloading logistics trucks, and conducting component inventories. Engineers will also conduct tests tied to new manufacturing equipment in the body shop, alongside stabilization procedures across the bodywork and paint shop sectors. Logistics teams and affiliated support units will adjust their working hours and staffing levels according to external client requirements.

Sales contraction across Europe

The production cut follows a sustained downturn in European vehicle registrations for the Romanian brand throughout 2026. Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association shows Dacia registrations fell 9.7% year-on-year across Europe during the first eight months of the year, dropping from 399,437 vehicles in 2025 to 360,657 in 2026. Over the same eight-month period, Dacia's European market share contracted from 4.6% to 3.9%. In August alone, registrations dropped 12.9% year-on-year to a 3.9% market share, down from 4.7% in August 2025. Dacia vice president for sales, marketing, and operations Frank Marotte attributed the downturn to rapid expansion in electric vehicle segments on primary European markets and growing competition from European and Chinese manufacturers.

Structural pressures and model relocations

Factory output at Mioveni has fallen to 1,060 vehicles per day, down from 1,160 per day in July and nearly one third below peak capacity. In response, management reorganized factory shifts from three down to two and launched a third voluntary departure scheme, with approximately 1,200 jobs targeted as production of key models moves abroad. The future Striker model will be assembled in Turkey, while the next electric generation will be manufactured in Slovenia, and Logan and Sandero lines operate in Morocco. Automobile Dacia managing director Mihai Bordeanu warned that domestic energy prices have doubled compared to pre-pandemic levels, putting 20% to 25% of Romania's automotive sector at risk without government intervention.

Nothing good is happening. Not only has nothing happened until now, but it is categorically not happening in the present either, and we have no vision.