Government supplements Romania's Cash-for-Bangers program

Romania’s Government has supplemented the Cash-for-Bangers (Rabla) program by offering 4,000 extra electronic vouchers, said the environment minister Cristiana Pasca Palmer. The Environment Ministry increased the budget for this program to EUR 32 million. In exchange for discarding an old car, people get a discount of RON 6,500 (EUR 1,500) for buying a new car. Romanians can get an additional bonus of EUR 168 if they buy a car whose engine generates an amount of CO2 emissions below 100 g per km or an eco-bonus of EUR 335 if they buy a new car with a hybrid drive. The Government initially allocated 13,000 vouchers, but they were all reserved in the first month of the program. Last year, about 25,000 vouchers were issued through the Rabla program, 20,000 of them for individuals and 5,000 for companies. This, year, the Government also launched the Rabla Plus program, granting bonuses to those who buy hybrid or all-electric cars. The bonus for a hybrid car is some EUR 1,100 and the subsidy for an electric car is EUR 4,400. editor@romania-insider.com