[NEWS] The Romanian car market – current situation

Due to COVID 19 pandemic the total number of purchased cars decreased, but there is a significant increase of full electric cars and plug-in hybrids category.

The year 2020 started with five consecutive months of a 33% average decrease of the car market in Romania, compared to the similar period of 2019 and in May we recorded a 44.6% decrease of the total market compared to the similar month of the previous year. According to the data communicated by DRPCIV (Driving Permits and Vehicle Registration Regime Directorate), in April 2020, 4321 new cars were registered in Romania. Their number is 50.3% lower than in April 2019. Last month, 7067 vehicles were registered, an increase of 63.4% compared to April. All this above information shows that this decline will be diminished in the coming months.

This situation is given by the unfavorable circumstance in which Romania is, as well as other European countries, namely the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which imposed traffic restrictions, production stops, the closure of showrooms in most European countries and also by increasingly severe restrictions on CO2 emissions compared to the last year.

Although the total number of purchased cars decreased, when analyzing specific categories we recorded a significant increase of 19.5% for full electric cars and a much more consistent one, of 59.5% for the plug-in hybrids category. Furthermore, this year, it is expected that non or low polluting car purchases will register significantly higher volumes than the previous year, due to programs to stimulate the purchase of clean energy powered cars and also to the raised awareness of their necessity.