The suspension of the Rabla program put a strong brake on a type of car. What prices has arrived for buyers in Romania
The market for full-electric cars in Romania decreased by over 40% in the first seven months of the year, although many new and accessible models have been launched, including the news of Chinese brands.
In Romania, new full-electric car registrations decreased by 44% in the first part of the year and only Croatia had a higher percentage decrease, of all EU states, according to the data of the European car manufacturers).
Electrical registration: Austria-Romania 10-1
The electric car has a good year in the EU, with a growth of 22% and a total of 869,000 vehicles. Austria, Bulgaria and Poland have record year.
In 2025, Romania decreases strongly on electrics, given that the rest of Europe displays increasing figures, shows the latest official data.
In Romania, in the first half of the year, a little over 3,000 full-electric cars were registered, while in Austria, there were ten times more. Context: The population of Austria is half compared to Romania, but the Austrian salary is three times higher than that of the Romanians.
Other markets in the region have the best year so far: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia have grown between 60% and 70%. The market in Bulgaria rose by 31%, and the Hungarian one, 12%.
Diana Buzoianu, about the Rabla program
The Rabla Rabla program was suspended on June 18, the day before the beginning of the stage for natural persons. The program will be resumed from September 1, but with a budget three times smaller.
The subsidy for full-electric cars will decrease strongly-from the proposed value, of 7,500 euros, to 3,700 euros. The automotive industry had requested 8,500 euros.
The Rabla 2025 program – It has been announced how much the electric cars ecotichet will be
The Minister of the Environment, Diana Buzoianu, said that, in the coming years, the financing of the program should be rethought, so that it not only depends on the funds from the state budget, as has happened in the last 20 years.
“The ecotichet for electric has been adjusted, but this decision allows, under the current budgetary conditions, we can offer as many Romanians as possible to benefit this year of support.
It was like in a roller-coaster the course related to the subsidy for electrics in Romania: for years the state offered 10,000 euros, then decreased to 5,000 euros.
Again, the subsidy was agreed to 7,500 euros and then the program was suspended.
We still have a decade available
From 2035, new gas or diesel cars will no longer be sold in the EU, and only the full-electric ones, those on hydrogen and (probably) e-Fuels. Under these conditions, it would be normal for full-electric sales to grow, but this does not happen in Romania.
In Romania there are just over 50,000 full-electric cars on the roads, their weight being 0.5% of the entire car park.
How many new electric cars were registered in Romania in the period 2014-2024 (Data that):
2014: 7
2015: 24
2016: 74
2017: 188
2018: 605
2019: 1.506
2020: 2,837
2021: 6.342
2022: 11.638
2023: 14.438
2024: 9.795
The decrease came against the background of the grant grant granted the Rabla program, from 10,000 euros, to 5,000 euros. This was the main cause for market collapse, but another reason was that there are very few accessible electric models.
Car prices
It is very small the number of electric models that, before the application of any subsidy, have a list price of below 30,000 euros. For slightly larger models, with which you can go with the family on leave, the price is far above a gasoline engine, passing 40-50,000 euros.
For 2025 an increase in the subsidy was expected, the industry insisted this, and the plan was for the subsidy to climb 50%, at 7,500 euros (37,000 lei) for full-electric machines.
“The car market in Romania was severely affected by the longest delay in the history of the Rabla program, followed by the full suspension of the 2025 edition. This unprecedented situation deeply destabilized consumers' confidence and blocked the purchase decisions, and the decrease of over 50% of the registration of electric cars, in June, is a direct consequence,” Apia.
And July was minus, a decrease of 18% to full-electric, according to APIA data. Their market share was 3.2% of the total, while in many EU countries the quota passed 10%. The decrease comes in a year in which some Chinese brands have been launched in the country, including the famous Byd, considered by many to be a rival for Tesla. What are the best -selling models of electric cars, for us?
Top ten full-electric brands in the first seven months of 2025, new car registration, APIA data
Dacia – 1160
Tesla – 423
Hyundai – 257
Renault – 234
Ford – 231
Volkswagen – 217
Mercedes-Benz-182
BMW – 160
Leapmotor – 142
Volvo – 115
Top 10 Full-Electric models registered in seven months of 2025
Dacia Spring – 1160
Tesla Model 3 – 221
Tesla Model Y – 197
Hyundai Kona – 158
Renault Megane – 142
Leapmotor T03 – 138
Volkswagen Id.4 – 118
Ford Capri – 85
Volkswagen Id.3 – 68
Mercedes-Bez Eqa-66
The European market
Germany is, at a great distance, the number one market in the EU, with 248,000 cars and 35%growth. France remained in second place, with 148,000 cars (6%decrease). On three was Belgium, with 76,000 cars and a 20%advance.
Of the EU countries, two markets are extremely large for electric cars: the United Kingdom, with a total of 224,000 (not far from Germany) and Norway (70,000, 37%growth).
Photo source: dreamstime.com
