Bulgaria sees new car registrations record

Bulgaria set a record for the largest number of registered new cars in Europe. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association reported 40% increase in August, compared to a year earlier. Double-digit growth was also achieved in July. There has been a revival in the car market in many European countries, but what is the increase due to in this country?

More than 3,000 new cars were bought in Bulgaria in just one month. The industry has an explanation for how this European sales record was achieved.

"The growth in new car sales in Bulgaria is not just from August. This year there is actually a positive movement. I hope that one of the reasons is that consumers have now realised that the best solution is a new car, not a second-hand one, but also a factor is the lack of supply over the past year," said Alexander Kostadinov, chairman of the Automobile Manufacturers Association.

"In recent months, there has been a steady recovery of production capacities, a normalization of delivery times, which inevitably leads to the fact that cars that were ordered a long time ago are starting to arrive and be delivered and registered accordingly," said Lachezar Georgiev, brand manager of a car company.

Disruptions in supply chains globally have caused many buyers to become impatient until the new car arrives.

New car deliveries would happen even faster if Bulgaria were part of the Schengen area.

However, the industry is moderately optimistic about the development of the market.

"With a stable production and with the currently observed stable demand, which pleases us very much, we believe that this trend of positive rise in the market of new cars, respectively their registrations, will continue, maybe not at the rate of 30+% in August, but with a stable and nice growth," added Lachezar Georgiev.

"I hope that the rise in new car sales will continue and accelerate because Bulgaria is in the last place in terms of new car sales in Europe. A new car is not just a convenience for the one who uses it. A new car means cleaner air for all of us. Safer roads and last but not least lower fuel consumption", explained Alexander Kostadinov.

Currently, very few models or specific extras can delay the delivery of a new car.