Romania posts the fastest growth of electric vehicles registrations in EU, but from low base; petrol cars close to 50 pct of new registrations

Romania recorded the highest growth rate of electric vehicles registrations among the EU member states in the first quarter of this year, of 1,673 percent (almost 18 times) year-n-year, on a low base effect, according to European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). The report shows that petrol cars registrations accounted for 55 percent in the EU and close to 50 percent in Romania in the first quarter.

Official data show 28,627 cars were registered in Romania in the first quarter of this year, out of which 14,124 petrol cars (49.3 percent), 13,366 diesel cars (46.7 percent) and 1,137 (4 percent) alternatively‐powered vehicles.

From this point of view, Romania follows the European trend, but with some delay.

“In the first quarter of 2018, 37.9 percent of all new passenger cars in the EU ran on diesel. Petrol cars accounted for 55.5 percent of the market, making it the most sold fuel type. Alternatively-powered vehicles accounted for 6.5 percent of EU car sales in Q1 2018, with electrically‐chargeable vehicles making up 1.7 percent of all cars sold,” ACEA said.

In Romania, petrol cars registrations rose by 61 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, diesel cars registrations increased by 7.5 percent, while alternatively‐powered vehicles soared by 90.1 percent.

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“Alternatively‐powered vehicles” category includes battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and alternatively-powered vehicles other than electric.

The difference between plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles is that the former vehicles can be plugged-in to the national grid by means of a cable in order to charge the car’s batteries, while the latter vehicles charge the batteries using the petrol engine.

In Romania, out of the total number of alternatively‐powered vehicles registered in the first quarter, 195 are battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (Romania does not have separate statistics for the two categories), up 1,673 percent from the first quarter of 2017, when only 11 vehicles from this category were sold.

Moreover, 765 hybrid electric vehicles were registered in Romania in January-March 2018, up 95 percent compared with Q1 2017, and 177 alternatively-powered vehicles other than electric (-8.8 percent).

ACEA data show that Romania is the 18^th largest market among the 28 EU member states for alternatively‐powered vehicles and the 17^th market for electric chargeable vehicles.