In August 2015, demand for new passenger cars in the EU went up by 11.2% on the year, while Bulgaria registered a decrease by 4.9% over the same period.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, the increase registered in August on an EU scale reflected the ongoing recovery in the market and pursuing the upward trend commenced two years ago.

Substantial year-on-year increases were registered in Spain (+23.3%), Italy (+10.6%), France (+10.0%), the UK (+9.6%) and Germany (+6.2%).

Across the region, new passenger car registrations totaled 744,799 units.

As regards Bulgaria, new passenger car registrations fell by 4.9% on the year to 1607 in August 2015 against the backdrop of growth by 31.9% in July.

Bulgaria lands at the penultimate spot in the EU ranking, followed by Luxembourg only, where new passenger car registrations dropped by 10.5% over the same period.

However, in the period January – August 2015 new passenger car registrations in Bulgaria increased by 12.0% on the year to a total of 15 209, making Bulgaria the country with the ninth largest growth in the EU during this period.

Daimler posted the largest growth of 23.3% to 46 610 vehicles, followed by BMW Group with 21.4%, Fiat with 14.7%, Peugeot with 10.3%, Ford with 8%, and Volkswagen with 5.1%.