Romania charges one of the highest tariffs in Europe for fast charging electric cars, namely EUR 0.43/kWh, the same level as Austria and almost double that of Spain or Croatia, although the wholesale electricity price is not the highest in the EU, according to an analysis by Dumitru Chisalita, president of the Smart Energy Association (AEI).

According to the cited source, the difference is explained by the lack of competition in the ultra-fast charging station segment and by operators' commercial strategy, which treats Romania as a transit market with low volumes and weak bargaining power.

'The fact that Romania appears in the Tesla app with a tariff of EUR 0.43/kWh, exactly as in Austria and almost double that of Spain or Croatia, can no longer be explained by market accidents or temporary fluctuations. It is the result of a deliberate commercial strategy applied in a market considered marginal, a transit market with limited bargaining power. Romania does not have the most expensive electricity in Europe (if not adjusted for purchasing power). On the contrary, in many periods the wholesale electricity price is below the EU average. Nevertheless, electric car users pay among the highest fast-charging tariffs. This contradiction says a great deal about how the Romanian market is perceived by major operators,' the AEI president said.

The analysis shows that for Tesla, Romania is not a volume market but 'a safety market, with a few well-placed stations on major road corridors, mainly intended for regional transit'.

'In the absence of a constant flow of local users, investment and operating costs are recovered through a higher price per kWh. In other words, a few pay a lot instead of many paying a little. This economic logic is easy to understand from the company's perspective, but hard to accept for consumers, especially when comparisons with other countries in the region are inevitable,' the document states.

According to the research, Hungary and Poland, with significantly lower tariffs, 'demonstrate that the difference lies neither in geography nor in energy costs, but in the level of use and local competition'.

The AEI president underlined that Romania does not yet have real competition in the ultra-fast charging station segment.

'This is where the real problem arises: Romania does not yet have genuine competition in the ultra-fast charging station segment. There are few stations, limited coverage and rare alternatives outside major cities. In such a context, the price is not constrained by the market but dictated by the operator. Tesla knows very well that Romanian users, in most cases, do not have real options due to the lack of competition in this sector. Moreover, Tesla's regional pricing policy treats Eastern Europe as an area where investments must be amortised quickly because risks are considered higher - slow adoption of electric vehicles, legislative instability, modest road infrastructure. All these factors are embedded in the final price paid by the driver,' Chisalita said.

He referred to the case of Serbia, where charging is free. 'Tesla knows how to be flexible when it wants to stimulate a market. Romania, however, has moved beyond the 'promotion' phase and entered directly into the monetisation phase, without benefiting from the advantages of a mature market,' the AEI president added.

In his view, the problem is not only the EUR 0.43/kWh price, but the message it sends - that Romania is a market that can be charged more because it lacks sufficient critical mass to matter.

'As long as the number of electric cars remains relatively low and alternative infrastructure does not develop aggressively, this message will not change. Prices will not fall out of goodwill. They will fall only when stations are full, competition is real and Romanian users finally have a choice,' Dumitru Chisalita stressed. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Nicoleta Banciulea; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)