Electric and hybrid cars made up more than 20% of new cars sold in Romania in the first month of 2023, the latest data from the Association of Automobile Manufacturers and Importers shows.
For the first two months of 2023, 8.6% of purchased cars were full-electric compared to just 5.9% over the same period in 2022, the same statistics show.
The increase can be attributed to Romania’s large incentive for those purchasing a new electric car. The €10,000 subsidy the government gives new buyers was reflected in the sale of green cars, which went up by almost 50% in 2022 compared to the previous year.
New sessions for the so-called “Rabla Classic” and “Rabla Plus” programmes will start on 24 March, announced Environment Minister Tanczos Barna.
“The two programmes have an increased budget. The total budget is 1.5 billion this year for the two programmes. We also have an allocation for a new programme financed from greenhouse gas funds – the Local Rabla. This programme will be developed and implemented in collaboration with the Territorial Administrative Units, with the municipalities,” said Barna.
“In 15 days, we will open the application for the municipalities in this programme. Once the list of these Administrative Territorial Units is finalised and the financing contracts are signed electronically, we will open the application for citizens,” he said.
Romania appears to be taking necessary steps towards the EU’s de facto ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2035, which will also ban hybrids and instead allow new cars to be equipped only with zero-carbon engines.
“Don’t deprive Europeans of the opportunity to drive clean, attractive and affordable electric cars built in Europe itself,” European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said during a debate in the European Parliament last year.
In the EU, the sale of electric cars made up over 12% of the EU market share, with Germany dominating the rankings with almost 200,000 sold.
Germany is followed by France, while Sweden, in third place, is the country with the highest growth in electric car sales in percentage terms, at 65%.
At the other end of the scale is Italy, which is more conservative in this area, with a 26% drop, data from the European Manufacturers’ Association show.
In Romania, a total of 11,600 electric vehicles have been registered – 300 more than in Poland.
(Maria Smarandache | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
