As many as 31,000 cars were sent to the Clunckers program between April and August 21 this year, but only 8,100 new cars were bought using the vouchers received within the Cash – for – Cluncker program, according to Romania's Environment Ministry. Of the cars bough via the car retirement program, almost half were made in Romania.

Romanians will cars older than ten years, but still functional, can take them to recycling places called REMAT, and get a voucher instead which can be used to get a reduction of the price of a new car.

The Clunkers program fueled new cars sales in previous years in Romania. Last year, the state’s budget, through the Ministry of Environment, was of EUR 105 million, which helped retire 120,000 old cars. Over two years the program has banished 300,000 cars older than 10 years to the scrapheap. Around 101,000 new cars were bought within this program, and 40,000 of these were locally made.

editor@romania-insider.com