Electric cars end 2023 with market share of 24.4 pct of total sales in Romania (DRPCIV)

Electric cars end 2023 with market share of 24.4 pct of total sales in Romania (DRPCIV)

New car registrations in Romania increased by 11.6% in 2023 compared to the previous year, with electric cars jumping 25.9% to a market share of 24.4%, according to data from the Directorate of Driving Licenses and Vehicle Registration (DRPCIV), processed by the Association of Automobile Manufacturers and Importers (APIA).

According to the statistics published on Thursday, in the national market, in the top ten brands of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, in 2023, ranking first is Dacia (46,125 units), followed by Renault (15,173), Toyota (11,577), Volkswagen (11,050), Skoda (10,557), Ford (9,988), Mercedes Benz (9,045), Hyundai (8,978), Suzuki (4,721) and BMW (4,689).

In terms of fuel type of the registered cars, petrol engines show a decrease of 1.9% compared to the share in the similar period in 2022, to 62.6%. Similarly, diesel cars show a year-on-year decrease of 0.9% and have a 12.9% share of the total.

On the other hand, electric vehicles, namely 100% electric cars and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and full hybrids (which also have electric propulsion without external charging), reached a market share of 24.4% last year, 11.5% above the share of diesel engines.

The data cited reveals that 100% electric cars have a 10.7% share of the market in the 12 months of 2023, compared to 9.1% in the previous year. Purchases in this category are up considerably (+25.9%) compared to the same period in 2022. In this context, it is worth noting the significant growth of 100% electric cars (+31.9%) and plug-in hybrids (+45.2%) in the total number of electric vehicles.

Also, full hybrid cars show an increase of 14.2% compared to the 12 months of the previous year.

In 2023, the top five best-selling 100% electric cars are: Dacia Spring - with 6,875 units and an increase of 0.7% compared to the same period last year, Tesla Model Y (2,079 units, +696.6%), Tesla Model 3 (1,022 units, +34.7%), Renault Megane (818 units, +431.2%) and Volkswagen e-UP! (488 units, -5.1%).

For plug-in cars, the top position is held by the Ford Kuga - with 735 units and an increase of 126.9% in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Ranking next are Hyundai Tucson - with 379 units and an increase of 39.9%, Toyota RAV4 (371 units, +312.2%), Renault Captur (331 units, +34%) and Mercedes Benz GLE (327 units, +32.9%).

However, in hybrid cars, without external refuelling, Toyota Corolla leads the top 3 with 2,283 units, down 4.8% from 2022, Toyota C-HR (2,082 units, +5.3%) and Toyota Yaris Cross (1,559 units, +100.9%).

The light commercial vehicle category reported an increase of 15.3% over the 12 months of 2023 as a whole, compared to the previous year's data.