About 3,000 new green cars were sold in Romania in first nine months of the year, almost double (99.83%) compared to the same period in 2017, and the share of “green” cars in total car sales nationwide reached 2.6%, according to data from the Association of Automobile Manufacturers and Importers (APIA).

According to statistics, out of a total of 2,922 cars sold between January and September, 2,274 units are plug-in hybrid vehicles (up 47.6% from the first nine months of the previous year) and 648 full electric cars, up by 165.6%, writes Agerpres.

In the 9 months analyzed, the share of new green cars in total sales at the national level was 2.6%, while in the same period in 2017 the share was 1.9%.

In September of this year, 325 electric and hybrid cars were sold, down 16.9%, compared to the previous month, when 391 new cars were sold.

APIA data shows that Volkswagen was the first in the sales top of electric cars sold in the January-September period, with 182 units, followed by BMW (121 units), smart (95), Renault (61), Kia (39), Mercedes Benz (31), Porsche (30), Nissan (27), Volvo (26), Mitsubishi (18) and Audi (9).

In the same time, most of the hybrid cars sold in Romania during the reference period were Volkswagen (2,023 units), BMW (86), Smart (44), Renault (40), Kia (35), Mercedes Benz (23), Porsche (22) and Nissan (1).

APIA statistics show that last year the share of electric and hybrid cars in the total sales of new units reached 2.2%, with 2,811 units, up 136.7% over the previous year.

In mid-March this year, the Ministry of Environment launched a new session of the “Rabla Plus” program for those who want to buy an ecological car.

The Ministry estimates that in 2018, Romanians will buy 2,000 electric cars through the “Rabla Plus” Program.