20 years ago, there were much fewer car models, there were no electric cars, SUVs occupied very small shares, and there were no Logan, Duster and Sandero on the market. Both Daewoo and Aro produced cars in Romania, and cars such as the Dacia SuperNova, Volkswagen Bora and Opel Vectra were in high demand as export models.

If at the end of 2002 there were 3.3 million cars registered in the country, now there are more than 9 million. You can see it on the streets, and if we look at the photos taken in the early 2000s, we can see how empty the streets were then compared to now.

The age of the car fleet in Romania in the passenger car category was 16.9 years, while the EU average is 11.8 years. Luxembourg has the newest fleet with an average age of 6.7 years, Austria has an average age of 8.5 years, Ireland has an average age of 8.6 years and Denmark has an average age of less than 9 years. In Germany and Belgium, the average is less than 10 years.

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The oldest fleet in Lithuania (age 17 years), followed by Romania (16.9 years), Estonia (16.7), Greece (16.6 years). It must be said that the report from which we extracted these figures does NOT contain data on Bulgaria.

One good thing is that Romania produces more than six times more cars than 22 years ago: in 2000 there were less than 70,000, now we have 420,000 (Logan, Sandero, Duster and Puma cars).

It must be said that two decades ago, the madness of the “car tax”, which will bring changes, disputes, expectations and excitement, did not begin since 2007.

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In January 2007, the “first registration tax” came into force, and in March: the EU opened an infringement procedure, claiming that the tax discriminated against certain types of cars. Ten years followed, with several changes, until the tax was abolished in early 2017.

Which models were the best sellers in Europe in 2002 (no units)

Volkswagen Golf 596 thousand

Peugeot 206 522 thousand

Ford Focus 519 thousand

Renault Clio 501 thousand

Peugeot 307 442 thousand

Opel Astra 439 thousand

Opel Corsa 422 thousand

Fiat Punto 418 thousand

The best-selling SUVs of 2002

Toyota RAV 4 88 thousand

Mercedes class M 49 thousand

LandRover Freelander 48 thousand

BMW X5 39 thousand

Suzuki Vitara 35 thousand

Compared to 20 years ago, there are probably more than three times as many new car models sold in the European car market, and because there is more choice and fewer leaders. For example, in 2021, Volkswagen Golf was in first place — only 205,000 units, not nearly 600,000, as in 2002.

How big was the new car market in Romania (cars)

1996: 96,000

1998: 115,580

2000: 66,000

2004: 145,120

2007: 315,000

2013: 58,000

2020: 125,000

2021: 119,000

(APIA data source)

National production of cars

2000: 64,000

2004: 98,000

2010: 324,000

2018: 476,000

2021: 420,000

(data sources DRPCIV, OICA; INS)

Import of used cars (without units)

1998: 62,000

1999: 22,500

2001: 31,000

2004: 58,000

2020: 381,000

2021: 395,000

(data source DRPCIV)

20 years ago, Opel was the number one brand in used car sales. For more than 15 years, Volkswagen has been in first place, while Opel’s share is decreasing.

In 2004, 60% of new cars sold in Romania were produced in the country, last year this share was almost a quarter.

The most popular models in the country are the 2001 models

Dacia SuperNova with 22,186 units sold, followed by Dacia Classic with 18,548 units, Dacia pick-up with 11,226 units and Daewoo Tico with 3,226 units.

In 2004, Daewoo produced a record number of cars in Craiova – 26,000, which was the best year since 1996.

In 2004, the most popular new import cars were the Renault Megane and Clio, both with over 4,000 units, followed by the Skoda Octavia in third place with over 4,400. The top ten included models such as the Skoda Fabia, Peugeot 206, Peugeot 307 and Opel Astra.

In 2004, 60% of new cars sold were C-class, B-class accounted for 13%. SUVs, now 45% of the market, had only 3% of the market.

Sales of new imported cars increased significantly, many car showrooms opened, and people bought massively models such as Volkswagen Passat and Bora, Renault Megane, Skoda Octavia or Opel Vectra.

In 2001, 31 thousand new cars were imported, and in 2004 – more than 58 thousand. For comparison, in 2020, 381 thousand SH cars were imported, and last year – 395 thousand.

In 2003, diesel accounted for just under 25% of the total new car market, while among imported cars more than half were diesel, most from Renault, Skoda and Peugeot. The only model in the domestic market that also had a diesel option was the Dacia Solenza.

In 2014, diesel fuel reached an all-time high with 56% of the total new car market, and in 2019 and 2020 it fell to 26-27%. At the end of 2021, diesel accounted for 19% of the new car market. In the first three months of 2022, the share fell to 15%, and according to estimates, we are headed for 10%.

Photo source: Dreamstime.com