Romania’s Govt. plans to revive First Car program

Romania's Government plans to revive the program under which individuals can buy cars with loans that are partially guaranteed by the Government -- a version for the automotive industry of the more successful Prima Casa (Fist House) program in the real estate market, Profit.ro reported.

This would be done by amending government ordinance (OG) 66/2014 that regulated the Prima Masina program.

Just like in the case of Prima Casa, the Government guarantees 50% of the bank loan contracted by the customer. The customer pays 1% of the guaranteed loan as a fee for having it insured.

One of the main amendments is that the program's beneficiaries are no longer limited to people buying their first car. On the contrary, the recipients can combine Prima Masina with the scrapping program Rabla (Cash for Bangers) that provides them with a lump sum incentive against giving up old cars.

The terms of the Prima Masina program are also re-designed such as to accommodate more incentives for hybrid and electric cars.

(Photo: Pexels.com)