In the program “Hello, Bulgaria“ on NOVA, Alexander Kostadinov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Automobile Manufacturers (AAP), analyzed the state of the automobile market in the country. According to him, the past year 2025 was the most successful in the recent history of Bulgaria in terms of sales of brand new passenger cars.
Kostadinov pointed out that despite the record levels, our country still lags significantly behind European trends in terms of electromobility and the renewal of the car fleet, which remains the oldest in the European Union.
In 2025, nearly 50,000 new passenger cars were sold in Bulgaria, which is a growth of 12-15% compared to the previous year. “This is the best result in the recent history of our country. The previous record year was 2008, but the market could not recover to these levels for 17 years“, explained Kostadinov.
According to him, the main reasons for this jump are the increased incomes of the population and the realization that owning a new car is more profitable in the long term. “People have realized that buying a new car is cheaper due to low maintenance costs and a 5 to 7 year warranty, while with a 10 year old car the costs are just beginning“, he emphasized.
Despite the overall growth, the share of electric cars in Bulgaria remains only 5%, while the average for Europe is between 23 and 25%. “Unfortunately, we are in the queue. One of the reasons is the lack of financial incentives from the state. In neighboring Romania, for example, the subsidy for purchasing an electric car is about 10,400 euros“, pointed out the chairman of the AAP.
Kostadinov drew serious attention to the fact that the average age of cars in Bulgaria is about 20 years. “We are number one in the EU in terms of the oldest car fleet, in terms of fatality rates in accidents and in terms of air pollution. Between 12,000 and 15,000 people in Bulgaria die prematurely every year from diseases caused by dirty air, with 40-50% of pollution in cities coming from transport, the expert warns.