The reduction of the subsidy from 10,000 euros to 5,100 euros in 2024 led to a drop in electric vehicle sales in Romania by over 30%, according to a PwC study.
Sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles on the Romanian market are estimated to increase by 1.1% this year, compared to 2024, with Romania, along with Slovakia, being the only markets in Central Europe that will end 2025 in the red, according to the PwC Autofacts report conducted on five markets in the region. The Slovak car market is expected to rise by 2%, while Poland and Hungary will stagnate, and the Czech Republic will decline by 3%.
Romania has the third oldest car fleet in the European Union, with an average age of 15.4 years, compared to the EU average of 12.5 years, being surpassed by the Czech Republic (16.2) and Greece (17.5), according to the latest report by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) – Vehicles on European roads January 2025.
There were 8.1 million cars on the roads of Romania in 2023, according to the same report, of which 6.5 million are older than 10 years. Only 1.5% are electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid electric.
Dacia remains the first car brand in terms of sales at the national level, with a share of 30.2%, despite a decrease of 2.8% in 2024 compared to the previous year. Only Toyota (+21.5%), Hyundai (+16.9%) and Mercedes-Benz (+13.2%) exceeded the 4% market growth, with Hyundai ahead of Skoda and Mercedes-Benz ahead of Suzuki, Autofacts shows. Light commercial vehicle sales are expected to fall by 7.5% in 2025, with Renault cutting its sales by almost half. However, the light commercial vehicle segment should recover by 2028, along with strong growth in the number of passenger cars, with the total advance estimated at over 20% compared to that recorded in 2024.
Production to enter a downward trajectory this year
After in 2024 production in Romania increased by 9% compared to 2023, to around 560,000 units, it will enter a downward trend this year. Since the resumption of light commercial vehicle production in 2023, after a ten-year hiatus, the annual volume in 2024 reached 84,000 units or a share of 15.1%. Although the share of light commercial vehicle production is expected to increase steadily until 2030, when it will reach a share of 21.8% of the total, estimates show that overall automotive production in Romania (passenger cars and light commercial vehicles) will decrease by 2.7% annually between 2025 and 2030. The decline is the result of Renault’s continued reduction in production, while Ford will follow a constant trajectory, according to the PwC Autofacts report.
In 2024, light vehicle sales in the five Central European markets analyzed totaled almost 1.3 million units, up 9.3% compared to the previous year. For 2025, however, a completely different evolution is predicted, with a decrease of 0.2% expected, with economic sentiment deteriorating in the last quarter of the year in all countries in the region.