The Rabla program will continue in 2026, says Bolojan. What are the conditions announced by the Prime Minister in a meeting with the automotive industry

In a meeting with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on Monday, representatives of the automotive industry requested the resumption of the Rabla program, considering the losses recorded this year as a result of the limitation of the government program. “The Prime Minister explained that the Rabla program will continue, but at a significantly lower intensity, and the funding granted by the state will be correlated with the level of national production”, according to a Government statement.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan met on Monday, at the Victoria Palace, with the representatives of the Romanian Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACAROM).

The representatives of the automotive industry presented to the Prime Minister a series of economic and social problems faced by the sector, especially with regard to the minimum turnover tax, the cost of electricity, the Rabla program, the capping of the energy price, the cogeneration tax, the remuneration of employees and the application of the Labor Code.

The minimum turnover tax could be reduced

One of the main requests of the industry concerned the elimination, starting from 2026, of the minimum turnover tax, considered discriminatory, as well as the design of the budget for the next year without the inclusion of this tax.

“The Prime Minister expressed his willingness to analyze the reduction of this tax, under certain conditions, emphasizing, however, that such a measure cannot be applied exclusively to the automotive industry, but must target the entire economy”, according to the Government's statement.

The Rabla program will continue in 2026. What are the conditions

Also, the representatives of the car industry requested the resumption of the Rabla program, considering the losses recorded this year as a result of the limitation of the government program.

They showed that reducing the number of vehicles financed by the program from 30,000 in 2024 to 19,000 in 2025 could risk the loss of around 5,000 jobs in the industry.

“The Prime Minister explained that the Rabla program will continue, but at a significantly lower intensity, and the funding granted by the state will be correlated with the level of national production. He stated that the limitation of the program is determined both by the fact that Romania has fulfilled the indicators assumed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), and by budgetary constraints. Decisions regarding this scheme will be taken after the adoption of the budget for the year 2026, and before implementation they will be discussed with partners in the automotive industry”, the Executive's press release states.

Another important topic addressed was the cost of electricity. In this context, ACAROM representatives requested the development of a roadmap for reducing energy costs in the period 2026-2030. The Prime Minister explained that the reduction of electricity prices will be possible as production capacities increase at the national level.

Regarding the increase in the cogeneration tax, reported by the car industry, the prime minister stated that he will request checks to clarify the context in which this tax was increased.

Among other topics discussed were tax relief for research activities in the automotive industry, amending the Labor Code, supporting technological automation for large enterprises, supporting employee retraining programs and the minimum wage.

The meeting at the Victoria Palace was attended, on behalf of ACAROM, by the general manager of Automobile Dacia, Mihai Bordeanu, the general manager of Ford Otosan Craiova, Firat Elhuseyni, the general manager of Grup Industrial de Components (GIC) Pitesti, Silviu Badea, the director of public affairs, Renault Group Romania, Cristian Nevzoreanu, the director of government affairs, Ford Otosan Craiova, Andreea Radu, the administrator and legal director of Bosch Romania, Alice Radu, the general director Schaeffler Romania and South-Eastern Europe, Alexandru Blemovici, the deputy general director of Rombat SA, Costel Trincă, the general secretary of ACAROM, Adrian Sandu.

On behalf of the Government, the head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery, Mihai Jurca, and state councilor Raul-Mircea Gutin also participated.

The condition on which the Rabla Program for 2026 depends

The Minister of the Environment, Diana Buzoianu, stated at the end of last month, on Digi24, that a decision in the case of the Rabla Program for 2026 will be taken in December, when it will be known what the budget of the Environment Fund Administration (AFM) will be next year.

“For next year, the decision will be made next month, when we will negotiate the budget. If there is money, we will put this program in place. If there is no more money for next year from the AFM budget, unfortunately, the project will no longer be financed. When we have the AFM budget, which will happen a maximum of a month from now, we will know exactly if there is still the necessary money for Rabla”, said the Minister of the Environment, Diana Buzoianu, quoted by News.ro.

She explained that the projects moved from PNRR to AFM will certainly appear in next year's budget.

The interest in the Rabla Program is extremely high in Romania, the available budgets being exhausted every time within a few minutes of the opening of registrations.

This year, the interest for electric cars was lower, because the value of the voucher was low, the budget being directed towards classic cars.

More than 9,200 individuals signed up for the Rabla Auto 2025 Program on September 30, in the first 15 minutes after the opening of the session, the Environmental Fund Administration (AFM) announced.

Photo source: Dreamstime.com