More and more Romanians are interested in cheaper, but also less polluting alternatives to classic fuels. This causes large companies to invest in electric vehicles, but also the Romanian state to allocate subsidies to those who want to switch from classic cars to electric or hybrid ones.
The current electric and hybrid car market
At the end of February this year, Romania had already reached a 17% share of electric and hybrid vehicles, 3% more compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the share of cars with diesel engines dropped to 15%.
Considering that it is desired to abandon oil imports from Russia, and the price of oil continues to rise, manufacturers are investing more and more in electric and hybrid cars, and countries around the world are proposing incentive programs so that the population chooses vehicles non-polluting
In Romania, such a project is Electric Up. The program finances small and medium-sized companies to install photovoltaic systems and recharging stations for electric and hybrid vehicles.
Green Numbers for Electric Cars
On April 28 of the same year, the common origin was published in the Official Gazette, which regulates the granting of green registration numbers (letters and numbers) for 100% electric cars. This Order will enter into force within 60 days of its publication, with the purpose of:
„ensuring the visibility of these categories of vehicles in road traffic, in order to stimulate the market introduction of non-polluting transport vehicles, the initiation of a legal framework to facilitate their access to the recharging infrastructure with electricity, the establishment of eco-sustainable transport policies, aimed at cope with heavy traffic, as well as protecting the environment”
Tanczos Barna, the Minister of the Environment, specified that this project aims to provide certain facilities for the owners of such vehicles: parking and access to certain urban areas, considering that most cities will move to restrict access to certain areas of polluting vehicles.
The Rabla Plus program
Starting this year, the state has introduced a series of changes also regarding the Rabla Plus program. Thus, the obligation to scrap a used vehicle for the purchase of a new one was imposed, for the same purpose a maximum of 2 used vehicles can be scrapped.
At the same time, the amount of financing cannot exceed 50% of the commercial value of the new vehicle. Financing is allocated through eco-tickets depending on the type of new vehicle, but also on the number of scrapped vehicles. An ecobonus is given to those who scrap a vehicle older than 15 years, with a pollution standard higher than Euro 3.
According to APIA, in the first quarter of this year, the most sold electric vehicles in Romania were:
- Dacia Spring: 952 cars
- Tesla Model 3: 154 cars
- Hyundai Kona: 146 cars
in terms of plug-in hybrid cars, the best-selling models in the same period were:
- Ford Kuga
- Mercedes Benz GLE
- Hyundai Tucson
- Mercedes Benz GLC