ACEA: New passenger car registrations in Bulgaria in January-April 2021 up 18% y/y

Against the background of car sales having been pushed down in 2020 amid the Covid-19 crisis, new passenger car registrations in Bulgaria in January to April 2021 were 18 per cent higher than in the first four months of last year.

This is according to figures released on May 19 by ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

There were a total of 7894 new passenger car registrations in the first four months of 2021, compared with 6751 in the same period last year.

The difference between April 2021 and April 2020 is even starker – an increase of 191.3 per cent, representing 2400 new passenger car registrations compared with 824 in the fourth month of last year.

But the figures for the first four months of 2021 for Bulgaria are lower than the equivalent period of 2019.

New passenger car registrations in Bulgaria in January-April 2019 added up to 11 427, up from 11 188 in the first four months of 2018, an increase of 2.1 per cent.

The trend is similar across the European Union, according to ACEA.

The association said that in April 2021, new car registrations surged by 218.6 per cent in the EU because of last year’s low base of comparison due to coronavirus restrictions.

“Indeed, despite this big percentage increase, last month’s sales volume was almost 300 000 units lower than that recorded in April 2019,” ACEA said.

Many markets across the EU region posted double‐ or even triple‐digit percentage gains in April.

Italy recorded the biggest increase (3276.8 per cent) of the major markets, followed by Spain (1787.9 per cent). France (568.8 per cent) and Germany (90 per cent) also showed strong gains compared with last year.

From January to April 2021, EU demand for passenger cars increased by 24.4 per cent to reach 3.4 million units registered in total, with the last two months providing a substantial boost.

Looking at the four largest markets, Italy and France posted the biggest gains (up 68.4 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively).

At the same time, positive April results brought the cumulative performances of Spain (up 18.8 per cent) and Germany (up 7.8 per cent) into positive territory for the first time this year, ACEA said.

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