Cars:  'Green' vehicle sales in Romania up 94 pct, at 10 months

 Registrations of vehicles have recorded a jump of 0.7 pct in the first ten months of the year, compared to the same period of 2020, and 'green' cars have noted an increase of sales of 94 pct, to a market share of 12.8 pct, shows data centralized by the Association of Vehicle Producers and Importers (APIA), published on Monday.On the Romanian market, after ten months, the rankings of cars and vehicles is led by Dacia (29,345 units), followed by Ford (9,528), Toyota (7,974), Volkswagen (7,918), Renault (7,727), Hyundai (7,478), Skoda (6,907), Mercedes-Benz (5.995), Suzuki (3.955) and Peugeot (3.205).In the cars category, in October of this year, a volume of 9,496 units was recorded, by 23.5 pct lower than in the similar month of 2020, yet in the overall ten months of 2021, there is a general increase of 0.7 pct.In what regards the market share, the SUV segment is on the first position, with a share of 43.6 pct (+5.1 percentage points over 2020), followed by C Class (market share 28.2 pct, -5.2 pp) and B Class (market share 20.8 pct, -0.3 pp).Depending on the type of fuel of registered vehicles, in the January - October period, the share of those with gas engines recorded an increase of 0.4 pp over the first ten months of last year, reaching 66.9 pct. Diesel engines noted a 6.6 pp decrease and a 20.3 pct share of the total.On the other hand, eco-friendly vehicles, namely the electric ones (100% and plug-in hybrids), as well as full hybrid (which have electric propulsion without external charge) hold, after the first ten months of 2021, a market share of 12.8 pct, double in comparison with the same interval of last year (6.6 pct)."As in 2020, when, although there was a decrease of vehicle sales in general, the 'green' ones performed, in 2021, acquisitions in this category nearly doubles (+94 pct), compared to the similar period of last year. In this context, of note is the important increase of plug-in hybrid vehicles (+233.6 pct)," the APIA analysis mentions.At the general level, from January to October, most car acquisitions were done by companies, which covers 55 pct of the total, individuals accounting for the rest of 45 pct.In the category of light commercial vehicles, after the first ten months of the current years, a 21.9 pct increase was recorded over the same interval of 2020.