Tesla enters top 10 of new car registrations in Romania in first quarter

American electric car brand Tesla entered the top 10 best-selling car brands in Romania in the first quarter of 2024 for the first time, according to official data released by the Association of Car Manufacturers in Romania (ACAROM).

Although Tesla’s worldwide sales declined by 8.5% in the first quarterof this year compared with the same period of 2023, in Romania, the brand recorded 3.7 times higher sales year-on-year.

A total of 1,020 new Tesla cars were registered in Romania in January-March 2024, up from 274 in the same months of 2023. Tesla thus climbed to ninth in the ranking of best-selling new car brands in Romania, surpassing Kia, BMW, Audi, Peugeot, Fiat and Citroen, among others.

The most popular Tesla model in terms of sales in Romania was Model 3, with 640 units registered in Q1 2024, followed by Model Y, with 376 units. Both models have a starting price of EUR 43,000 on the Romanian market.

Electric car sales on the rise in Romania

Electric vehicle sales rose significantly in Romania in recent years, supported by the state subsidy program Rabla Plus.

In 2023, over 20,800 new electric vehicles were registered in Romania, up by 35% compared with the previous year. EVs thus surpassed diesel cars in terms of sales as only 18,500 new diesel cars were registered in 2023, up 4.5% versus 2022.

Hybrid car sales also advanced by 14% in 2023, to 14,000 units. As a result, the EV and HEV segments reached a market share of 24.4% in terms of units sold, up from 21.7% in 2022.

The top selling electric model in 2023 was Dacia Spring, with 6,875 units sold, but an increase of only 0.7% versus the previous year.

Tesla was second, with 3,213 cars sold, three times more than in 2022. Tesla surpassed the sales of electric vehicles produced by Volkswagen (1,421 units), Renault (945 units) and Hyunday (549 units), although most of these are cheaper.

Top-selling car brands in Romania

The registrations of new vehicles totaled 33,228 units in the first quarter of 2024, down 10% versus the same period of 2023.

The top-selling car brands were:

• DACIA = 9.692 units
• TOYOTA = 2.614 units
• SKODA = 2.443 units
• HYUNDAI = 1.989 units