The local car market saw a contraction in supply in 2023, a year marked by inflation, a lower purchasing power of the population, the volatility of fuel prices, and financial-fiscal changes, according to an analysis carried out by Autovit.ro. Still, more than 1.1 million cars were registered in Romania last year, representing a 3% increase over the previous year.

Notable increases were registered in the segment of new cars - over 142,000 units, and domestically traded second-hand vehicles, which exceeded the threshold of 660,000 units, the same source said. Meanwhile, the number of imported used cars registered in Romania reached roughly 304,000 at the end of 2023, marking a constant decrease in the last 5 years.

According to data from the Romanian Office for Driving Licenses and Car Registrations (DRPCIV), the volume of new car registrations exceeded 140,000 units (142,488) in 2023, representing an increase of 10% compared to 2022. According to Autovit, the new car market has been growing slightly over the past 4 years but has yet to surpass the number of registrations in 2019 -161,562. 

Dacia remained the best-selling brand in Romania last year, followed by Renault, Toyota, Volkswagen, Skoda and Ford.

Meanwhile, the electric cars had another record year, mainly thanks to the Rabla Plus program. Compared to 2022, sales of new electric cars have increased by almost 30%, surpassing the 15,000 unit mark for the first time, representing a market share of about 11% of new cars (vs 8% in 2022). The most popular brands and models of fully electric vehicles in 2023 were Dacia Spring, Tesla Y, Renault Megane, and Volkswagen E-up.

The total number of hybrid and electric vehicles registered in Romania exceeded 70,000 units in 2023.

According to the Autovit.ro analysis, the imported used car market had the most significant decline. In 2023, 304,171 cars brought from abroad were registered in Romania, 6% less than in 2022 (325,062). At the same time, the number is 32% lower than in 2019, when, before the pandemic, 444,601 units were registered in Romania.

"The imported used car market ends 2023 with the lowest number of registrations in the last 6 years. The main reasons for this decline were the lack of sufficient stocks in international car fleets and high prices," reads the Autovit.ro press release.

Re-registrations ended 2023 with an increase of around 7%, surpassing the 660,000 unit mark - the highest volume of used car transactions recorded domestically in the last 5 years, the same source said.

Autovit.ro is a leading online platform in Romania for the sale and purchase of new and second-hand cars, with over 3 million monthly visitors and over 1,000 car dealers using the company's services. The platform is part of the OLX Group.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Shuo Wang/Dreamstime.com)