Bulgaria's New Cars Market Starts to Pick Up Tangibly

After it collapsed by some 50% y/y in 2009 and by 25% in 2010, Bulgaria's market of new vehicles has started to show more tangible signs of recovery.

A total of 1 464 new cars were bought in Bulgaria in January 2011, a growth of 18% year-on-year when the sales were 1160. Thus, the new car sales in Bulgaria increased for a third month in a row.

19 motorbikes and 79 new trucks were sold in Bulgaria in January but not a single new bus, according to data of the Association of Car Importers.

Volkswagen ranked first in January with 197 new car sales, followed by Toyota with 144, and Peugeot with 132.

In November 2010, Bulgaria's new cars market grew by 10% year-on-year, while in December the sales saw a 27% increase year-on-year, when a total of 2758 sales were made – the highest monthly number in 2010.

According to Stoyan Zhelev, head of the Association of Car Importers, it is too early to mark a trend since people in Bulgaria still don't have the security they need in order to make a purchase of a new car.