Bulgaria's January - August 2023 passenger car registrations increase by 22.9% year-on-year

author: FutureCar Staff    

In the period of January to August 2023, Bulgaria saw an increase of 22.9% in new passenger car registrations compared to the same period in 2022, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). This amounted to a total of 24,406 new registrations. Additionally, in August 2023, there was a 37.8% increase in new passenger car registrations in Bulgaria compared to August 2022, with a total of 3,421 registrations.

Out of the new passenger car registrations in Bulgaria from January to August 2023, there were 1,162 battery-electric cars, 204 plug-in hybrids, 451 hybrid-electric cars, 1 "other" category including fuel cell electric vehicles, natural gas vehicles, LPG, E85/ethanol, and other fuels, 17,015 petrol cars, and 5,573 diesel cars.

The EU car market experienced a 21% expansion in August 2023, with a total of 787,626 registered units. This marked the 13th consecutive month of growth. Despite August typically being a slower month for car sales, the double-digit gains indicate that the EU market is recovering from last year's component shortages, as stated by ACEA. The largest markets, Germany, France, and Italy, all saw double-digit percentage gains of 37.3%, 24.3%, and 11.9% respectively.

From January to August 2023, new EU car registrations significantly increased by 17.9%, reaching a total of 7.1 million units. However, this is still below the pre-Covid-pandemic level of 9 million units sold in 2019. Most markets, including Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, experienced double-digit percentage gains in this eight-month period.

In August 2023, battery-electric cars in the EU accounted for over 20% of the market share, surpassing diesel cars for the second time this year and becoming the third most popular choice for new car buyers. Hybrid-electric cars maintained their position as the second choice with a 24% market share. Petrol cars, although still the most popular choice, saw a decrease in market share from 38.7% in August last year to 32.7%.

In August 2023, EU battery-electric car registrations increased by 118.1%, totaling 165,165 units and representing 21% of the market. Except for Malta, all EU markets experienced double- and triple-digit percentage growth. Germany, the largest market, saw a remarkable growth of 170.7%, while Belgium recorded the highest growth rate of 224.5%. Overall, battery-electric car sales increased by 62.7% with nearly 1 million units registered from January to August.

Hybrid-electric car registrations in the EU grew by 29% in August, primarily driven by strong growth in Germany, France, and Spain. Italy was the only market to record a slight decline. Between January and August, nearly 1.8 million hybrid-electric cars were sold, accounting for a quarter of the market and resulting in a cumulative increase of 28.6%.

In August, new EU plug-in hybrid car registrations increased by 5.5%, totaling 58,557 units. The Netherlands, France, and Sweden had strong performances, offsetting the decline in Germany. However, the market share of plug-in hybrid cars decreased from 8.5% to 7.4% compared to August last year.

The EU petrol car market saw a slight increase of 2.1% in August, although its market share decreased from 38.7% to 32.7% compared to August last year. Italy and France were the primary drivers of this growth, while most of the other EU markets declined.

In contrast, the EU diesel car market continued to decline in August, with a decrease of 6%. However, Germany and Central and Eastern European markets such as Slovakia and Romania experienced growth. Diesel cars now have a market share of 12.5%, down from 16.1% in August of the previous year.

FutureCar Staff