Romania’s new car registrations were 1.6 percent up this October from the same period of 2023, with electrified cars scoring a 2.8 percent jump and a market share of 26.8 percent, shows data released on Wednesday by the Association of Automobile Manufacturers and Importers (APIA).

Overall, October’s new vehicle registrations were 0.07 percent down year-over-year, but up 29.6 percent from September 2024.

New registrations in the passenger car segment stood at 11,464 units (+1.6 percent), and January – October new car registrations were 3.6 percent up year-over-year.

The SUV category accounts for the largest market share – at 51 percent (+11.2 percent), followed by Class C vehicles with a share of 29.8 percent (+15.9 percent) and Class B vehicles with 13.1 percent (-15.5 percent).

Depending on the fuel type of the registered cars, in October 2024, gasoline-powered cars plus mild hybrids advanced 2 percent compared to the similar period of 2023 to a total share of 62 percent. Also, cars equipped with diesel and mild hybrid engines dipped 3.5 percent year-over-year to a market share of 11.2 percent.

According to APIA data, electrified cars, respectively fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids, as well as full hybrid ones (that don’t need to be plugged in to charge) hit a market share of 26.8 percent, 15.6 percentage points above the share of diesel engines, a category that also includes mild hybrid diesel engines.

The market share of fully electric cars was 4.9 percent in October 2024, less than the 10 percent reported in the same month of the previous year, while plug-in hybrid cars account for a 5 percent market share, compared to 4.3 percent in October 2023.

The top three best-selling fully electric cars were: Tesla Model 3 – 109 units (+54 percent from the year-ago period), Tesla Model Y – 51 units (-63 percent) and Hyundai Kona – 41 units.

In the category of plug-in cars, the sales ranking is led by Ford Kuga with 62 units (+14.8 percent), followed by Hyundai Tucson – with 61 units (+74 percent) and BMW X1 – with 30 units.

In the category of hybrid cars that do not need recharging from external sources, the top positions are held by Toyota RAV4 – with 299 units (+97 percent year-over-year), Toyota Corolla – with 235 units, and Dacia Duster (208 units).

According to the survey, sales of light commercial vehicles and minibuses recorded a combined 3.2 percent increase (vs. October 2023), of which light commercial vehicles – minibuses excluded – saw a 1.2 percent decrease. Year-to-October the market of light commercial vehicles increased by 21.8 percent.

Conversely, sales of heavy commercial vehicles and buses dropped 24.7 percent, with 16+ tonne heavy commercial vehicles and tractors recording a setback of 26.2 percent in October compared to the same month in 2023.

APIA is a non-profit organization representative for the Romanian automotive industry, founded in 1994, and a member of the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers since 1996.

AGERPRES