For the second month in a row Bulgaria has registered the largest reduction in the EU in the number of new cars sold by dealers.

The sales in the first 10 months of 2010 (January-October) declined by almost 37% year-on-year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association ACEA.

A total of 12 698 new cars were sold in Bulgaria in January-October, compared with 19 723 in the first ten months of 2009.

But on a monthly basis, the situation is less dramatic than in some other EU Member States – the slump in October in Bulgaria is 9%, compared to 38% in Spain and 33% in Greece.

In the EU as a whole, new car sales in October are down (17%) for the 7th month in a row. In October 2009, 1 232 124 new cars were purchased in the EU while in October 2010, there have been a total of 1 027 036 such buys.

On yearly basis, new car sales are down 5.5% in the EU - 11 279 542 in the first 10 months of 2010, compared with 11 938 586 in 2009.

Several EU countries introduced subsidies for the purchase of new cars to deal with the situation with Germany being the most generous, offering a bonus of EUR 2 500 towards the trade-in of an older vehicle.