Romania’s car ownership rate doubled in ten years, but still 40% below EU average

The average age of the car fleet in Romania is 15.4 years, a few years above the EU average (11 years).

Although over the past 11 years the car fleet has increased by almost 3 million cars (nearly doubling in size), Romania remains 40% below the EU average in terms of car ownership rate, according to data from a report compiled by the local car importers and producers association APIA.

In 2007, Romania’s car fleet consisted of 3.5 million cars, and, by the end of 2018, it reached 6.4 million. Cars older than 15 years accounted for 47% of the total at the end of last year, well above the 26% figure seen at the end of 2010. The cars aged 6-15 years were 44.5% of the total, 13 percentage points less than a decade ago. Only 8% of the cars are relatively new (less than six years old), while in 2008 the share of these new cars was 38%.

The dynamics of the car fleet by type of fuel shows a substantial increase in diesel usage: from 24.8% in 2007 to 44.6% in 2018. Diesel cars dominate in the North West of the country (53.8%), while in the South region, gasoline has the highest share: over 61%.

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