The demand for new passenger cars in Bulgaria in March increased by 21.4 % compared to the same month last year.

There was also an increase in the demand for new passenger cars for the first quarter of 2015, which amounted to 8.4 % compared to the same period last year.

These trends are visible from the latest figures on new passenger car registrations of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), which were released on Thursday.

A total of 2108 new cars were purchased in March in Bulgaria, while the figure for the first quarter of 2015 amounted to 5008.

However it is too early to speak of sustained growth as the figures in February were 2.6 % lower compared to the same month in 2014, daily Dnevnik reminds.

As regards the EU as a whole, the demand for new passenger cars increased for the nineteenth consecutive month, marking the highest monthly growth since March 2014.

There was increased demand for new passenger cars in all member states except Poland and the Netherlands.

The highest increases in the demand of new passenger cars were visible in Portugal, Spain and Ireland, while Bulgaria ranked seventh in this respect.

Looking at the manufacturers, the greatest increases for the first quarter of 2015 were registered by Daimler, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Group and BMW Group.