Romania’s new‑car market in 2026 shows a familiar winner and a clear new story: Dacia models continue to top monthly registrations, but Chinese brands are the fastest risers — and battery‑electric vehicles are the only major powertrain category growing year‑on‑year. That mix matters for buyers, used‑car flows and dealer networks in Germany and Austria because it reshapes import/ export volumes, brand competition and the local supply of affordable second‑hand cars.

What the numbers say

Official DGPCI data processed by Romania’s industry body APIA show 10,952 new passenger cars were registered in Romania in September 2026; Dacia was the market leader and the Dacia Logan was the single most‑registered model that month with 1,148 units, ahead of the Duster (609) and Toyota Corolla Cross (559). These monthly figures are preliminary and come from APIA’s September 2026 release (DGPCI data).

On a cumulative basis, the new‑car market has cooled: APIA reports a decline in new registrations through the first nine months of 2026 (c. January–September) of roughly 10.5% compared with the same period in 2025 (96,261 units as reported by APIA for Jan–Sep 2026). At the same time, Romania’s domestic production brands have lost share while Chinese marques expanded quickly — ZF.ro reports that new registrations of Chinese brands rose from 3,224 units in Jan–Sep 2025 to 12,277 in the same period of 2026, lifting their market share to about 12.6% of new sales. ZF also puts total new‑car registrations in Jan–Sep 2026 at roughly 97,210 units (DRPCIV/DGPCI data).

Electric cars are the exception to the slowdown: APIA’s processing of DGPCI numbers shows 100% BEV registrations up strongly — APIA’s Jan–Sep 2026 tally records 7,870 BEVs, a rise of about 45.6% versus the same period in 2025. Plug‑in hybrids and other electrified types also rose, while many combustion models fell.

How model rankings look

APIA’s September top‑10 list places four Dacia models among the month’s best sellers (Logan, Duster, Sandero, Bigster). BYD is already visible in model and brand rankings: in September BYD accounted for several hundred registrations (BYD Seal U DM‑i appears in the monthly model list), and ZF reports BYD reached 4,173 registrations in Jan–Sep 2026 — a dramatic jump from the prior year that moved BYD into the upper half of brand rankings in Romania.

What this means for the market

For German and Austrian stakeholders the trends matter for three practical reasons. First, Romania remains dominated by used‑car imports and cross‑border trade: in H1 2026, a market analysis aggregating DRPCIV data showed 236,126 total registrations, of which 171,276 were used cars and 64,850 were new — underscoring that used‑car flows (including volumes destined for or coming from DE/AT) remain large.

Second, the fast arrival of Chinese brands (and their PHEV/BEV‑heavy line‑ups) reshapes competitive pressure on mainstream European marques and raises the prospect of more competitively priced BEVs entering the regional used‑car pool — relevant for fleet buyers, remarketers and dealers in Germany and Austria. Third, BEV growth in Romania supports demand for charging, servicing and parts for electrified cars — a potential market for German and Austrian suppliers and workshop networks as imports and local stock rotate.

The data are preliminary (APIA / DGPCI monthly releases) and the picture can change as year‑end totals are closed, but the pattern is clear: Dacia still anchors the model table, Chinese brands are scaling rapidly, and electrified vehicles are the growth engine.

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Sources: APIA (DGPCI), ZF, Adevărul, econocast, Netz‑Trends