Seven out of ten cars registered in Romania in 2025 were second-hand

Seven out of ten cars (71,47%) registered in Romania in 2025 were second-hand, with Volkswagen, Dacia and BMW brands are the most sought after by Romanians, reveals an analysis conducted by a marketplace platform, based on official data from the General Directorate of Driving Licenses and Registrations (DGPCI).

According to Plus-Auto.ro, In total, 548,612 cars were registered last year, of which 28,53% were new cars.

The nationwide analysis also shows that limited budgets, rising maintenance costs, inflation and economic uncertainties lead Romanians to look for cars that are already depreciated but still reliable, models with verifiable history and low running costs, better equipment for the same budget compared to a new car and cars that fulfill the same needs for different people: commuting, mixed trips, city, family, costs kept under control, according to Agerpres.

Based on these considerations, Volkswagen, Dacia and BMW cars are the most sought after by Romanians. Thus, out of this total, 27% are Volkswagen, which means that over 148,000 cars registered in Romania are of this make, mainly the Golf model.

In terms of new cars, Dacia is the most bought brand in this category, with 41,598 (29,29%).

By engine segment, nearly half (48%) of all cars registered in 2025 run on diesel (262,553 units), followed by gasoline (128,896) and 01 hybrid models (with 102,229 units, or 18,64% of the total).

In contrast, electric cars registered 13,191 registrations and hybrid 02 models 15,727. There were also 25,064 LPG cars registered.

Official DGPCI data show that over the past year, car models and brands considered reliable, durable and affordable dominate purchase preferences, and by county, Volkswagen is the most registered car in Romania in more than 70% of the cases, in 30 counties to be precise, with the Golf model (Alba, Arad, Bacău, Bacău, Bistrița, Botoșani, Caraș-Severin, Cluj, Covasna, Dâmbovița, Giurgiu, Gorj, Ialomița, Iași, Mehedinți, Mureș, Neamț, Olt, Prahova, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Timiș, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vâlcea and Vrancea), and the Passat (Constanța, Galați, Sălaj and Teleorman).

At the same time, Dacia is predominant in eight administrative-territorial units - with the Logan model in Argeș and Călărași counties, as well as with the Duster, in Brăila, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ilfov, Maramureș and Bucharest counties.

At the same time, BMW is in the top preferences in Dolj county, especially with the BMW 320D model.

In the electric car category, the competition between Tesla and BYD is growing in 2025.