Romanian e-vehicle market grew by over one-third in 2023

More than 42,000 electric cars have been registered, so far, in Romania, of which around 16,800 only in 2023, 35% more than in 2022, according to research published Thursday. Researcher Lektri.Co was established in Timisoara in 2018, and operates 20 charging stations are present in Romania, Serbia, Poland, Germany, France and Italy.

The leading model, Dacia Spring, exceeded 16,000 registered electrical vehicles, maintaining its leading position, from 6,877 units last year. Tesla models ranked 2nd and 3rd, with 2,156 registrations for the Model Y and 1,149 for the Model 3 respectively. These 3 models represent over 60% of the total number of registrations in Romania last year. 

Renault Zoe failed to make the podium this year, with only 169 units registered in 2023. On the other hand, the Volkswagen eUP! surpassed expectations with approximately 500 registrations, maintaining 5th position, followed by the Hyundai Kona and the VW iD3.

The Renault Megane E-Tech nearly achieved 1,000 registrations. The top 10 was completed by the BMW i3 and the Nissan Leaf in ninth and tenth place respectively. 

Electric cars more and more popular – Lektri.Co boss

“This year, Romania has remained constant in terms of e-mobility,” said Claudiu Suma, general director of Lektri.Co, adding that “we had, with one exception, over 1,000 registered units every month.”

In December 2023, 1,454 electric cars were registered in Romania, 84 of them LCV vehicles, down 38% year-on-year. The highest month for e-mobility was July had 2,134 registrations, and the lowest was April, with 962.

“Romanians are increasingly moving towards e-mobility, and the market will grow more and more. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to the mission of making electric mobility accessible to everyone, offering high-quality products and innovative technological solutions,” she added.

In the “high-end” category, which includes Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche models, the most registrations were registered in November. The most popular premium brand was BMW, with 70 units of the 143 luxury e-vehicles registered. 

Charging points near 5,000

As of this month, there are 4,967 charging points in Romania, of which 1,509 are CCS/CHAdeMO and 3,396 Type 2, at 2,067 locations. 

The Tesla Supercharger Network is now at 62 fast charging points in Romania, in eight locations, which are also usable for drivers of other marks, according to the website PlugShare.

Currently, charging network operators such as Renovatio E-Charge, EnelX, EON Drive, Mol Plugee, EVConnect, Plugpoint, Eldrive, EvGoSmartCharge are constantly investing, the report added. “We are fast approaching the milestone of 5,000 charging points,” Suma said.