Romania’s electric car market dropped 58% in March compared to 2024, mainly due to the postponement of the implementation of the new Rabla Program and uncertainties regarding the voucher value for electric cars.
As such, fully electric cars accounted for just 2.75% of total new car registrations last month.
The registration figures, examined by Profit.ro, reveal a volume of only 273 electric vehicles registered in March. At the same time, due to the declining image of the Tesla brand, this is the first time in several years that the best-selling imported brand in the electric vehicle segment is no longer Tesla.
The top-selling model remains the Dacia Spring, but with only 44 units registered, compared to 212 a year ago (-80%). In second place is the Leapmotor T03, Spring’s main competitor, a car produced in China but assembled by Stellantis in Poland from CKD kits, with a total of 34 units. Tesla Model 3 came in third, with 27 cars registered, a nearly 70% drop from the 83 units registered in March 2024.
Other electric cars preferred by Romanians in March included the Mercedes EQE, Tesla Model Y (only 11 units sold compared to 78 a year ago), VW ID.4 (10 units), Volvo EX30, Porsche Macan, Mercedes EQA, and Ford Explorer.
Other car segments showed different trends. Hybrid cars (including PHEVs) reached a volume of 4,994 units, with a significant 88% increase compared to last year, while diesel engines saw a sharp decline of 38%, reaching only 953 vehicles. Gasoline car registrations totaled 3,702 units, up 31% from last year’s 2,825 units.
As such, the hybrid segment grew at an astonishing rate, surpassing 50% of the market (50.33%), while gasoline now holds 37% of the new car market, and diesel has dropped to a historic low of 9.6%.
(Photo source: Nicola Ferrari | Dreamstime.com)
