In the last two years, only 6.31 new cars were registered in Romania for every thousand inhabitants. Consequently, only one in twenty cars in the country has less than two years of running. By comparison, 39.4 new cars were registered in Germany for every thousand inhabitants, according to Eurostat.

“The Ministry of Environment is practically the only institution helping citizens buy new cars through programs such as Rabla Clasic and Rabla Plus,” environment minister Tanczos Barna said in an interview for B1TV.

“We are simultaneously seeing a hard-to-contain phenomenon of secondhand cars being brought from all over Europe into Eastern Europe,” he added.

Second-hand cars can be a much cheaper option for Romanians looking to buy a car. At the same time, new car delivery may be delayed for up to nine months.

“There will probably be fewer and fewer citizens that manage to buy new cars,” the minister said.

Earlier this month, the European Parliament greenlit a proposed ban on selling new cars with combustion engines starting with 2035.

The move is seen as a boon for the development of electric vehicles and for a cleaner environment.

(Photo: Pixabay)

andrei@romania-insider.com