After initial skepticism and even fear about automobiles, they eventually found their place and helped humans move more freely. Even the landscapes of cities changed because of cars, and massive road infrastructure development took place after the spread of automobiles, especially following the appearance of the first mass-produced and relatively cheap car, the Ford Model T.

In general, an upward trend is clearly visible in the number of cars, even relative to the population. To measure this, the motorization rate is often used, which shows the number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants. If this rate is high, people tend to own cars and their mobility is probably higher (without considering public transportation, other types of transport vehicles, or the general infrastructure).

In Romania, the motorization rate in 2025 was 461, which means that, on average, there are 461 passenger cars for every 1,000 inhabitants. However, this is only a national average, and there are differences at the county level. The national average is still well below the European Union average and lower than that of neighboring EU member countries (even lower than in Bulgaria). However, the motorization rate does not have an ideal or desirable level; it simply shows how many passenger cars exist per 1,000 inhabitants. It closely depends on a country’s economic development, public transportation system, and general infrastructure. There is also a saturation point, since there are physical limits to where cars can be parked. Motorization rates higher than 700 are unlikely in European countries.

In Romania, in 2018 the motorization rate was only 330, but based on the latest data, by 2025 it increased by almost 40%, reaching 461 (Figure 1). However, the yearly growth rate shows a slowdown and was around 4% in the last two years. The highest increase occurred in 2019, when it rose by 7.58% compared to the previous year.