site.btaFirst Electric Car Built in Romania Expected to Roll off Assembly Line This Year

Interest among Romanians in electric cars has been growing in recent years, according to statistics presented this week by Romania's Environment Minister. But the country, which has two car plants, is already looking forward to the next step: the first all-electric car, which will carry the "Made in Romania" label.

During a visit to the Ford Otosan plant in the city of Craiova, Environment Minister Mircea Fechet announced on Tuesday that the first electric car will soon be produced there, pointing out that this is "exceptional news for the environment".

He said that in 2016, only 39 electric cars were bought in Romania, and in 2023, the number has increased to over 11,000.

The Environment Minister added that this not only means cleaner air and less pollutants in the atmosphere, but also that the money that his Ministry is providing through the so-called Rabla car scrapping program to improve environmental quality by renewing the national car fleet, will stay in Romania. Through the programme, which has been in place since 2004, the State grants vouchers that can be used to purchase a brand new car in exchange for scrapping the old one.

"It is extremely important that this money does not go abroad. Many times, either by financing photovoltaic panels or by financing electric cars, we find that the money does not stay in Romania, or even in Europe," Fechet added.

The prototype, manufactured in Cluj, has an autonomy of 350 kilometres on a single charge and can reach a top speed of 140 km/h. The body is made of carbon fibre. In addition, the car has no contact switch or gearbox, and everything in it is controlled electronically via sensors and a touch-screen console, the Romanian Capital magazine writes. 

In March 2024, the vehicle was also unveiled at the Armed Forces Academy in Sibiu as part of an international conference related to new technologies, Channel 33 reported.