Bulgaria Sees Strong Growth in New Car Sales Amid EU Market Shifts

In Bulgaria, 26,945 new cars were registered during the first seven months of the year, reflecting a 28.4% growth compared to the same period in 2023, as reported by BGNES. This positions Bulgaria as one of the leaders in market growth, maintaining its strong performance with an annual growth rate of 30.8% in the first half of the year.

In July alone, 3,906 new cars were registered, a 16% increase compared to July 2023. Bulgaria ranked fourth in market growth within the EU, following Malta (29.4%), Slovenia (19.9%), and Poland (18.6%), according to data from the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA).

Petrol vehicles led the registration numbers in July, with 3,154 units sold, marking a 23.2% rise compared to the same month in 2023. Electric vehicle registrations, however, declined to 151 units from 168 in July of the previous year, while hybrid vehicle registrations increased from 53 to 82 over the same period.

In the broader EU market, new car registrations in July 2024 saw a slight increase of 0.2%, with mixed results across the region's four major markets. Italy (+4.7%) and Spain (+3.4%) saw moderate growth, while France (-2.3%) and Germany (-2.1%) experienced declines. Over the first seven months of 2024, new car registrations in the EU increased by 3.9%, totaling over 6.5 million units, with all major markets showing modest but positive results.

In July 2024, battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations in the EU decreased by 10.8% to 102,705 units, reducing their market share to 12.1% from 13.5% the previous year. While Belgium (+44.2%), the Netherlands (+8.9%), and France (+1%) showed growth, a significant decline in Germany (-36.8%) offset these gains. From January to July, 815,399 new BEVs were registered,...