Auto Cos May Register By Feb 27 For First Stage Of Romania’s Car Park Renewal Program

The year’s “Junk car” program targets to replace up to 60,000 cars at least ten years old and was assigned a total 228 million lei (EUR1=RON4.3119).

 

Owners of old cars bought from outside Romania and registered in Romania by Dec 31, 2006, may take part in this year’s car park renewal program, according to an order of the environment minister on the resuming of the car park renewal program.

 

The first stage of the program, which ends on May 29, was assigned RON76 million for the replacement of 20,000 cars. The government grants car owners a scap bonus of RON3,800.

 

The second stage of the program will unfold between Jun 1 and Aug 31 and the third between Sept 1 and Dec 11.

 

Applications of auto makers and traders will be analyzed within seven days by the Environmental Fund Administration and the institution will publish the list of companies admitted to the program will be published on its website, together with the funds and number of cars approved for each company.

 

The Romanian Association of Car Manufacturers and Importers, or APIA, urged mid-January the resuming of the car park renewal program as a means to help salvage the local car industry, but questioned its efficiency, saying the annual number of imported used cars is 6-7 times higher than the number of cars scrapped.

 

For instance, in 2008, Romania replaced about 40,000 cars older than 12 years, but imported over 300,000 used cars, many of which were older than ten years, APIA said.