Report: Electric cars more common in Romania’s richest counties

The most well-off regions of Romania also have the most electric cars on the streets. Unsurprisingly, the most electric cars are in Bucharest, one for every 75 residents.

In Ilfov county, the ratio is one electric car for 173 residents. The capital and its surrounding Ilfov area are followed by Cluj (with 189 residents for every electric car), Timiș (233), Brașov (280), Sibiu (290), and Iași (290), according to data collected from the statistics of the General Directorate for Driving Licenses and Registrations (or DGPCI) and correlated with population data from the 2022 census.

The counties with the fewest electric cars reported to the population are Călărași (one electric automobile per 1,484 people), Ialomița (1,458), Vaslui (1,408), Teleorman (1,289), Giurgiu (1,191), Botoșani (1,190), and Buzău (1,027).

The national average is one electric car for 310 residents. Electric cars make up only 0.71% of all cars in Romania, one of the lowest numbers in Europe. Nationally, the best situation is again in Bucharest (1.72%). Next come Ilfov (1.24%), Cluj (1.04%), Iași (0.95%), Timiș (0.83%) and Brașov (0.77%).

In Norway, 29% of all cars are electric, while in Sweden, it is 11%, according to 2023 data. In Germany, 5.4% of cars are electric. Even in China, the percentage is 7.6%. In Japan, however, only 0.8% of cars are electric.

When it comes to hybrid automobiles, the proportion in Romania is one for every 71 residents. All hybrid cars are included here, regardless of whether they are “plug-in” or charged while driving, but also cars that use LPG and other fuels. The most hybrid cars reported to the population are found in Bucharest, one car for 10 residents. Next come Ilfov (31), Cluj (40), Brașov (43), and Constanța (one hybrid car for 43 residents).

Overall, Romania has one automobile for every 2.2 residents, according to official figures. Bucharest tops the ranking, with one automobile per 1.3 residents, but the data here may be distorted by leasing companies. Next come Timiș (1.94), Cluj (1.98), Constanța (2.01), Argeș (2.07), Alba (2.10), Hunedoara (2.10), Gorj (2.14) and Arad (2.14).

According to data from the National Commission for Strategy and Forecasting, the richest counties of Romania, by Gross Domestic Product per capita, are Bucharest, Cluj, Timiș, Brașov, Constanța, Sibiu, Prahova, and Ilfov. Approximately the same ones where the share of electric cars is the highest, G4Media pointed out.

(Photo source: Nicola Ferrari |