Romania could subsidize the purchase of electric cars through its cash-for -clunkers program in the future. An emergency ordinance draft saying that electric cars acquired through the cash-for-clunkers (rabla) program will benefit from additional facilities from the Romanian state it’s about to be approved, according to the Romanian Minister of Environment, Borbely Laszlo. He added that the program will not be available to individuals, but only to institutions for the time being.

The Government could cover a part of the cost of the electric car, up to 25 percent, but no more than EUR 5,000. On a long term, the possibility to grant discounts to individuals is also taken into account.

“The problem is the infrastructure and those terminals for charging the car”, said the Minister of Environment. He has added that he already had a discussion on this subject with Dacia Renault representatives and wants to talk to other producers about installing the necessary infrastructure.

The 2011 edition of the national cash-for-clunkers program is open to companies and public bodies, which were not included in the program in 2010. This year's edition began on March 20 and features the same rules: for a ten year old car, the owner receives a voucher worth RON 3,800. This year’s budget for the program is around EUR 54.2 million and allows for 60,000 old cars to be taken out of use.

Citroen was the first importer to bring an electrical car to Romania, Citroen C-Zero. The model is priced at EUR 36,600.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com