Tech trends in Romania: How is it do drive an electric car in Bucharest?

While many drivers could not imagine life without their car, an eco-friendly vehicle that embeds high-end technology could improve living standards and prompt responsible behavior towards the environment and future generations.

Anda Sebesi

Earlier this year, Kaufland Romania, in partnership with Renovatio, opened an electric car charging station in Bucharest in the Kaufland store parking lot on Barbu Vacarescu Boulevard. This will be the first of a network of ten such fast-charging electric stations that will cover the route from Arad, in western Romania, to Constanta on the Black Sea coast. The retailer’s representatives announced at that time that the second such unit was scheduled to be opened by the end of April in the parking lot of another Kaufland store in Ploiesti and the others over the next nine months.

The stations can be used by all types of electric and plug-in hybrid cars, are open non-stop and can be used free of charge. With the fast-charge option, 80 percent of the car’s battery capacity can be charged in about an hour.

Between EUR 20,000 and EUR 30,000 is invested in a charging station like the one opened in Bucharest and another EUR 5,000 to EUR 15,000 is required to connect the stations to the power grid, said Alexandru Teodorescu, one of the shareholders in Renovatio, a renewable energy company. Kaufland has also bought 18 electric Volkswagen Golf cars for an average price of EUR 30,000, 15 of which will be donated to local NGOs, the retailer has announced.

Romanians bought 495 electric and hybrid cars last year, twice as many as in 2014. In the first two months of this year, another 74 were registered, up by 90 percent against the same period of last year, according to company data.Even though their market share barely reaches about 0.6 percent of the total local market, according to www.automarket.ro, Romanian drivers continue to be attracted by eco-cars, regardless of whether they are 100 percent electric or hybrid.

The local authorities encourage Romanians to buy such cars with bonuses offered through the national Rabla program. Drivers that intend to buy a hybrid car through the scheme get an eco-ticket of RON 5,000 (about EUR 1,100), while those who intend to buy an electric one get an eco-ticket of RON 20,000 (about EUR 4,400).

While eco-car manufacturers ponder pulling into Romania…

The name of American Tesla Motors, the developer of electric vehicles, was recently mentioned by the Romanian minister of economy, Costin Borc, when he was asked if green car manufacturers were interested in opening a plant locally. The minister said that the government was looking at ways to reduce taxes for companies doing R&D. “There are some discussions in an early stage, but of course we are going in this direction. Furthermore, together with the Ministry of Finance, we are looking at a scheme to reduce the taxes on research & development, not only in the auto sector, but in general,” said Borc, in an interview with HotNews.ro. Tesla was founded by serial entrepreneur Elon Musk. The company currently sells several green car models.

Musk had said in June 2014 that Tesla would build an assembly plant in Europe once it sold 160,000 cars a year. At that time, the billionaire said the car maker was looking to open an R&D center in the UK. In 2013, Tesla opened an assembly plant in the Netherlands.

… other carmakers launch eco models

According to Alexandru Seremet, corporate communications manager at BMW Group Romania, eco-friendly concern should go beyond user experience. “A product is a real eco-friendly one when it is produced consuming fewer resources, generating fewer emissions and waste and using sustainable materials as much as possible,”he said.The manager stresses that eco-friendly cars can be split into three different categories: very efficient cars with conventional propulsion systems, hybrid models and electric ones.

In November last year, BMW launched its “i” range on the local market, including in its offer the BMW i3 and BMW i8 models. The concept is meant to offer sustainable mobility and include several innovations that generate maximal efficiency and minimal real impact on the environment. “BMW considers that conventional propulsion systems, diesel and gas engines, remain very important in its portfolio of models. Last fall, BMW started to introduce plug-in hybrid models in its range. It is about hybrids that have a bigger battery that can be charged and can ensure electric autonomy of about 25-30 km,” says the BMW representative. He adds that plug-in hybrid models have the same price as gas models with similar power, which makes them very competitive for the first time in the brand’s history.

Elsewhere, in May last year, Renault Romania launched the electric car Renault Zoe, with battery autonomy of between 100 and 150 kilometers, depending on the style of driving and weather. “Zoe embeds the technological expertise of Renault Zero Emissions in an accessible and 100 percent electric series product. Zoe is representative of a new electric mobility, very compatible with the active city lifestyle. It completes coherently the Z.E. Renault range in Romania, along with Kangoo Z.E. and Twizy,” said representatives of Renault Romania at the launch.

The benefits of an eco-car

According to Seremet of BMW Group Romania, image is the main benefit, and once the eco-car market increases, recognition will grow too. “From the business perspective, an eco-friendly car contributes to the diminishing of the company’s impact on the environment, which is a significant factor, especially for multinationals. Usually, large companies that have stricter analysis and control of their costs and have the resources needed to invest in a car as an image tool, choose electric or hybrid cars,” says Seremet. But he says that an electric car could be a good solution for two-car households too, who can charge their vehicle overnight. “This issue defines clearly the target for this kind of car – families with at least two cars that live in a house or a residential compound with parking where they could install a drain,” adds Seremet.

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