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Cars: Romanians buy 74 environmentally-friendly cars two months into 2016
Romanians bought, in the first two months of this year, as many as 74 hybrid and 100pct-electric cars, up by almost 90pct compared to the same period in 2015, according to the statistics of the Car Makers and Importers' Association (APIA).
The sales of environmentally-friendly cars, reported in January and February 2016, is the equivalent of 0.6pct of all new cars sold nationally.
As many as 35 green cars were sold in February alone, down by 10.2pct compared to the previous month, when 39 units were sold. In the first two months, figures show that 74 hybrid / 100pct—electric cars were purchased, up by 89.7pct year on year.
The APIA data reveal that, throughout 2015, the number of new hybrid and electric vehicles sold in Romania stood at 495, more than double (110pct) compared to 2014, when 236 units were sold.
The number of electric vehicles sold in Romania is still very small, according to the online platform Autovit.ro In 2014, less than one such vehicle was sold every month, while in 2015 some 36 electric vehicles reached their buyers.
To contrast, electric cars sales in the European Union advanced by 47 percent in 2015 to 91,000 units, on a market of nearly 20 models. It is the fastest growing segment of the worldwide car market, although it currently stands at just one percent, according to Autovit.ro.
"The reason why a few such vehicles are registered in Romania is the fact that complex state subsidy programmes are still inexistent. The first registration subsidies for such vehicles were launched in 2015 in Romania, while in countries of Western Europe such subsidies do support the clients ever since 2011. In addition, in our country only a few charging stations exist at a still high price. An average class electric car could cost over 30,000 euro, way beyond the sum Romanians would pay for an automobile," says Autovit.ro.
"Recent estimates show that after 2022, the purchase and maintenance costs of the electric cars will be on average lower than of the vehicles with combustion engine," says the website.
Autovit.ro is Romania's largest online professional platform dedicated to sales of new and used vehicles.