New car sales in Bulgaria slightly up in 2012 year-on-year – unlike EU trend
New car sales in Bulgaria in 2012 were 1.6 per cent higher than in 2011, while overall the downtrend trend in new car sales across the European Union continued, according to figures released on January 16 2013 by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.
New passenger car registrations in the EU declined by 8.2 per cent in 2012. Among the major car markets, the only country that saw an increase was the United Kingdom, by 5.3 per cent.
Across the EU, new passenger car registrations decreased by 16.3 per cent in December, which the association said was the steepest recorded decline in a month of December since 2008.
The association said that the downward trend in new car sales in the EU started 15 months ago.
Over the whole year, demand for new cars reached the lowest level recorded since 1995, totalling 12 053 904 units.
“The resulting 8.2 per cent contraction of the EU market (year-on-year) is the most important experienced since the 16.9 per cent downturn in 1993,” the association said.
In December, most of the major car markets in the EU recorded a double-digit downturn ranging from 14.6 per cent in France to 16.4 per cent in Germany, 22.5 per cent in Italy and 23 per cent in Spain.
From January to December 2012, results were diverse across markets. While the UK expanded and the German somewhat contained the decline (-2.9 per cent), Spain (-13.4 per cent), France (13.9 per cent) and Italy (-19.9 per cent) faced a more severe downturn, the association said.
In Bulgaria, a total of 19 419 new car registrations took place in 2012, up from 19 122 in January to December 2011. In December 2012, there were 1985 new car registrations in Bulgaria, 42 per cent more than the 1209 of December 2011.
According to the association’s figures, the best-performing manufacturer in the EU in 2012 was the Volkswagen group, whose marques include VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda and luxury brands Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and since August 2012, Porsche.
(Photo: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
