A transition delayed – the Romanian car industry in the slow lane to electromobility

This article reviews the state of the automotive industry in Romania and its level of preparedness for electrification scenarios associated with the drive to reduce CO2 emissions across Europe stemming from the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ package. The author considers the main features of the industry in Romania, which typically revolves around the production of models for export given the low levels of domestic car ownership and amidst strong imports of older, and more polluting, second-hand vehicles from western Europe. Despite healthy relative growth, sales of battery electric cars remain marginal and, critically, there is little competence within the country in the area of electrification, its plants having been geared around the internal combustion engine. On top of that, there is no apparent urgency around developing a compensatory electric battery industry. The author concludes that this can only imply a delayed electrification, but the chief worry is what that means for jobs and skills within Romania, as well as the implications for a two-speed Europe in this area, too, with central and eastern Europe being left further behind.