Through the "Rabla Plus" program, just over 1,600 vehicles were distributed, compared to 13,000 last year. The value of a voucher has decreased, and customers are discouraged by the rapid depreciation of these vehicles.

A little over 1,600 cars were sold through the government’s "Rabla Plus" program, falling short of expectations, admit environment officials.

The number is comparable to the cars sold in 2019 when the Ministry of Environment had a budget almost nine times smaller than the current one. This is because now the value of the vouchers has been halved.

The remaining funds, over 380 million lei, will be allocated to companies that want to replace their fleet with electric vehicles.

Mircea Fechet, Minister of the Environment: "We have a decrease in sales to individuals, which is something we expected, and given that there is still money left in the budget allocated to individuals, we have no reason not to redistribute those amounts to legal entities, where the funds have already been exhausted".

Several countries have decided to reduce or even completely eliminate subsidies for electric cars. Germany, for example, has canceled the aid, while France has limited it to 7,000 euros for electric cars manufactured in Europe.

Those manufactured in China are no longer eligible.

Costin Giurgea, host of the show Superspeed: "What we are currently feeling in the market is a relaxation of the desire, of the demand for electric cars. Those who have already bought them now want to sell and buy new ones, and they are facing relatively low resale prices for electric cars purchased a few years ago. I had contact with a major dealer in the United States who explained that for hybrids or internal combustion cars, there is a waiting list, while for electric cars, they have to offer discounts to sell what they have in stock".

Worse still, interest in second-hand cars has increased again.

Adrian Sandu, General Secretary of ACAROM: "We have observed an increasing trend in the registration of second-hand cars in Romania compared to the same period last year. This means there is a greater availability of these vehicles. We have reached a ratio of about 1 to 3 between new vehicles registered and second-hand vehicles registered for the first time in Romania".

Nevertheless, to meet pollution targets, the International Energy Agency says that by 2035, approximately 790 million electric cars should be on the road globally. Last year, there were only 45 million in circulation worldwide.