The number of green cars on the Romanian streets doubled

The number of green cars sold in Romania reached, in the first five months of the year, 1,372 units, almost double comparing to the same period in 2017, when 726 green cars were sold, according the Association of Car Manufacturers and Importers (APIA) data.

The statistics indicate that 1,084 are hybrid cars (up 62.8 percent more than in the first five months of 2017) and 288 full-electric, five times more than last year.

The share of new green cars in total domestic sales was 2.3 percent between January and May 2018, while in the same period in 2017, the share was 1.7percent.

According to APIA, the most traded electric cars were Volkswagen with 105 units, followed by smart (51), BMW (46), Mercedes Benz (22) , Renault (16), Volvo (15), Porsche (8) and Audi (6). Also, most of the hybrid cars sold in Romania were Toyota (931 units), Lexus (46), Ford (25), Audi (13) and Mercedes Benz (16).

APIA statistics show that last year the share of electric and hybrid cars in the total sales of new units reached 2.2 percent, 2,811 in number, up 136.7 percent over the previous year.

In mid-March this year, the Environment Ministry launched a new session of the Rabla Plus program for ecological cars,with an allocated budget of RON 120 million, with two types of eco-labels. First variant of ecobonus is worth RON 45,000 (EUR 10,000), but no more than 50% of the selling price, for the purchase of a new electric car.

Also, an eco bonus of RON 20,000 (about EUR 5,000), but no more than 50% of the trading price, may be granted for the purchase of a new hybrid electric vehicle with external power source, which generates a quantity CO2 emissions of less than 50 g/km. After launcging the program, theministery estimated that in 2018, Romanians will buy 2,000 electric cars through the ‘Rabla Plus’ Program.