Romanians buy more electric and hybrid than diesel cars for the first time
The sales of electric and hybrid cars in Romania have surpassed those of new diesel cars for the first time, according to environment minister Tanczos Barna.
Diesel cars made up more than half of the new car market in Romania just seven years ago. In the first seven months of this year, they were only 14%. Government programs, such as the Rabla Plus Program, which are meant to incentivize the purchasing of newer, greener cars, partly explain the shifting trend.
“The figures show us that we’re fast approaching the end of the diesel era,” Barna told HotNews. “It’s the first year in which newly-bought green cars outnumber diesel ones. It is a trend both at the European and the national level,” he added.
Sales of diesel cars in Romania dropped by almost 30% in the first seven months of this year compared with the same period of 2021, while fully electric cars saw a 300% increase in units sold relative to last year, according to the environment minister.
Sales of green cars, either fully electric, plug-in hybrid, or full hybrid, jumped 106,4% this year, and now represent 20,7% of the market share. Fully electric cars alone make up 7,9% of the market in the first seven months of this year, whereas same time last year they represented only 1,9%.
The sales of new cars with gasoline engines also recorded a 10,1% increase compared to the same period in 2021, reaching a market share of 65,3%.
Overall, the sales of new passenger cars in Romania reached 70,000 units in the first seven months of this year, up 12% year-on-year, despite a 22% drop in sales in July.
Local brand Dacia tops the sales of new cars, with close to 20,000 units sold in the first seven months, up by a third compared with the same period of last year. Hyundai and Toyota come next.
Dacia's Spring model is by far the best-selling full electric car in Romania, with almost 3,000 units sold in January-July. Toyota tops the sales ranking for full hybrid models, according to data from the Romanian Association of Car Producers and Importers (APIA).
(Photo source: Nicola Ferrari | Dreamstime.com)
