Romania’s New-Car Registrations Fall 11% in September as Market Weakness Deepens
Romanian new-passenger-car registrations fell by about 11% year on year in September 2026, extending a sharp deterioration that began after the first half. Electrified cars gained market share, while registrations of gasoline and diesel models contracted sharply.
September registrations decline
Romania’s new-passenger-car market contracted again in September 2026, adding to a downturn that has erased the modest growth recorded during the first half of the year. Preliminary data from the Directorate-General for Driving Licences and Vehicle Registrations, or DGPCI, analyzed by APIA showed 10,952 new-car registrations, down 11% from September 2025, according to Ziarul Unirea.
ACAROM, using the same underlying DGPCI source, reported a slightly different total of 11,068 vehicles and a year-on-year decline of 11.2%. The difference does not change the direction of the market: dealers and automakers faced another month of lower volumes following a much steeper 37% fall in August compared with August 2025.
The weakness persisted despite a new edition of Romania’s Rabla vehicle-purchase incentive program starting in July. The September figures indicate that the program had not generated enough additional demand to reverse the contraction by the end of the third quarter. For manufacturers and dealer networks, this raises the importance of inventory management, pricing and the timing of deliveries during the final months of 2026.
Nine-month result turns negative
New-car registrations totaled 97,210 units in the first nine months of 2026, a decline of 10.62% from the corresponding period of 2025. The timing of the slowdown is significant. Registrations had still been 0.3% higher year on year after the first six months, meaning that the overall decline accumulated during the subsequent quarter.
The contraction was not limited to new vehicles. First-time registrations of used passenger cars in Romania fell 14.7% year on year in September to 27,537 units. For the first nine months, used-car registrations declined 13.6% to 227,107 units. Buyers therefore did not simply shift from new vehicles to imported or domestically traded used cars; both segments recorded lower registration volumes.
For automotive distributors, the parallel decline limits the scope to offset weaker new-car sales through second-hand operations. It also signals broad pressure on vehicle purchasing rather than a straightforward substitution between price categories. The available figures do not identify the causes of that pressure, but they show that the downturn became substantially more pronounced after June.
Electrified cars gain within a smaller market
Powertrain data revealed a sharply divided market. Registrations of electrified passenger cars increased by 16%, while fully electric vehicles also grew 16% to 869 units. In contrast, gasoline-car registrations dropped 33.7%, and diesel registrations fell 39.4%. Electrified vehicles consequently increased their position even as the total market contracted.
Dacia remained the leading brand, with 2,705 cars registered in September. China’s BYD climbed to fourth place with 708 vehicles, moving ahead of Volkswagen. At model level, the Dacia Logan led with 1,148 registrations, followed by the Dacia Duster with 609, the Toyota Corolla Cross with 559 and the Dacia Sandero with 536.
The brand ranking highlights two simultaneous trends for market participants. Dacia retained a substantial home-market advantage, while BYD’s fourth-place result demonstrated that an expanding Chinese electric-vehicle supplier can gain ground during a broad sales contraction. Importers and established brands now face a smaller overall market alongside stronger competition in the electrified segment, where registrations continue to rise despite weaker demand for passenger cars as a whole.