New passenger car registrations in Bulgaria fell 37.6% in January-August 2020 y/y
The number of new passenger car registrations in Bulgaria in January to August 2020 was 37.6 per cent lower than in January to August 2019, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, ACEA, said on September 17.
The continuing Covid-19 crisis has dealt a severe blow to numerous industries, among them motor vehicle sales.
In January to August 2020, there were 15 206 new passenger car registrations in Bulgaria, down from 24 372 in the same months of 2019, ACEA said.
In August 2020 alone, there were 1918 new passenger car registrations in Bulgaria, about 24.5 per cent fewer than the 2929 registered in August 2019.
In July 2020, registrations of new passenger cars in the European Union saw a relatively small decline of 5.7 per cent compared to the same month last year, ACEA said.
Seven of the 27 member states posted growth in July, including France (+3.9 per cent) and Spain (+1.1 per cent). Outside the EU perimeter, the United Kingdom (+11.3 per cent), Iceland (+44.5 per cent) and Norway (+6.5 per cent) also showed first signs of recovery.
During the month of August, however, the EU car market posted a stronger decline (-18.9 per cent) again, although less dramatic than earlier in the year.
With the exception of Cyprus (+14.1 per cent), all countries in the region recorded losses compared to August 2019.
Looking at the four major EU markets, Italy performed best, with a slight drop of 0.4 per cent, while the strongest declines were seen in Germany (-20 per cent) and France (-19.8 per cent).
Over the first eight months of 2020, EU demand for passenger cars contracted by 32 per cent, ACEA said.
In total, 6 123 852 new cars were registered across the EU from January to August, almost 2.9 million less than during the same period last year.
Among the EU’s largest markets, Spain saw the biggest decline (-40.6 per cent) so far this year, followed by Italy (-38.9 per cent), France (-32 per cent) and Germany (-28.8 per cent), ACEA said.
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