The automotive sector represented at the national level by the Romanian Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACAROM) declares itself shocked by the new fiscal budget measures aimed at the Rabla and Rabla Plus (scrappage) schemes, announced in the draft Emergency Ordinance published by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday."After the adoption of some fiscal measures that were not previously discussed with the business environment, which directly impact the automotive sector (taxation with 1% of turnover, tax on micro-enterprises, etc.), we've learned with astonishment that the Ministry of Finance (the Government of Romania) is proposing new measures the enforcement of which will seriously impact the automotive sector in Romania. Thus, the change in a completely unforeseen and unbalanced way of the amount of vouchers offered under the Rabla scheme (to half of the current value) and the Rabla Plus scheme (to 1/5 of the current value) will lead to a collapse of the new vehicle market, combined with an exponential increase in the import of used vehicles. In 2023, we expect the new car market to reach 145,000 units, with the major contribution of the Rabla and Rabla Plus schemes," claim ACAROM representatives, in a press release sent on Thursday.According to the source, under the conditions of the announced measures, these schemes lose their attractiveness and thus the forecast for 2024 is disastrous, i.e. a market of new vehicles of a maximum of 80,000 units, with a direct negative impact on jobs in the sector and the turnover of Romanian companies from the automotive field."At the same time, we emphasize that the decrease in the values of the vouchers granted through the 2 scrappage schemes will affect the possibility of Romanian citizens to purchase new, less polluting vehicles. Thus, the beneficial effect of the running of the schemes in previous years is canceled: the increase in the share of hybrid, electrified and electric vehicles, having as a direct consequence, the increase in imports of second-hand, more polluting and unsafe vehicles," the professional association mentions.
Romania’s statistics office confirmed the 1.6% GDP growth (+1.2% y/y under the chain-linked volume or CLV methodology used by Eurostat) for the third quarter of the year (Q3), half of which was the result of outstanding activity reported in construction. The positive base effects in agriculture (weak crops last year) and marginal improvement in industry […]
Ciprian Ciucu, the Liberal (PNL) mayor of District 6, secured more than 36% of the votes in the December 7, 2025, partial local elections, earning him the position of Bucharest’s new general mayor. The victory marks a significant step in his political career that began 25 years ago and has steadily moved from local administration...
Update: After the counting of the almost 590,000 votes cast in Bucharest, Liberal (PNL) candidate Ciprian Ciucu won the elections for general mayor with 36.1% (over 211,000 votes), holding a lead of more than 14 percentage points over the runner-up. Anca Alexandrescu (21.94%), the candidate...
The exit polls published on Sunday, December 7, at 9 PM, give Ciprian Ciucu as the winner of the elections for Bucharest's new general mayor. The candidate backed by the center-right National Liberal Party won 32.7% of the votes, over 6% ahead of Daniel Băluță, who was backed by PNL’s coalition partner, the Social Democratic […]
Close to 1.8 million Bucharest residents are expected to cast their ballot on Sunday, December 7, to elect the city's next mayor. The post has been vacant since Nicușor Dan was elected president this May. He had secured a second mandate as mayor of Bucharest in June 2024, having won over 48% of the votes. […]
I am a bit late to the party, but I have thoughts (and concerns) on Radu Jude’s much talked-about Dracula, and even more thoughts (and compliments) on other films that I fear might have gone under the radar a bit. Let’s go! There is no more recognizable marketing asset for the local tourism (and no […]
