One third of Romanians living in urban areas would not buy an electric car because it’s too expensive, according to a study by market research company 4Service Group.

Meanwhile, 61% of respondents said they thought of making such an acquisition, but not in the next three years. Almost 30% plan such an acquisition in the next 2-3 years, and only 10% may buy such a car in the coming year, reports local News.ro.

When it comes to why the Romanians would choose an electric car, 32% pointed out the advanced technology and performance compared to a conventional car. The Rabla Plus program carried out by the state, which offers a subsidy of EUR 10,000 for buying a 100% electric car and EUR 4,500 for a hybrid vehicle, is also a good reason for 26% of the participants to the study.

Meanwhile, while 33.3% of Romanians wouldn’t buy such a car because it’s too expensive, 14% wouldn’t think of making such a purchase because they prefer conventional or hybrid cars, and 13.1% believe that it takes too long to charge an electric car. The current small number of charging stations in the country is also among the main reasons against making such an acquisition.

The study also revealed that 28.5% of Romanian drivers would go to gas stations to charge their cars while 27.5% would prefer charging them at supermarket or hypermarket charging stations during the time they do their shopping. Slightly over 22% would like to be able to charge the cars anywhere.

4Service Group carried out the study in September 2017 on 536 respondents from urban areas.

Romanian environment minister Gratiela Gavrilescu said in late-September that the number of electric or hybrids cars purchased via Romania’s Cash-for-Bangers (Rabla) program will go up to over 1,000 this year.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com