Abstract
New vehicle sales in Bulgaria declined by a staggering 50% year-on-year
(y-o-y) to 4,645 units in
January-February, according to estimates from
the Bulgarian Union of Automative Importers (SVAB).
This indicates that
the country' s autos industry is heading for a sharp downturn after a 4.6%
y-o-y
increase in sales to 57,927 units last year.
In the absence of
local manufacturing facilities, foreign firms mainly operate through
authorised
distributors. Despite its small size, the market is highly
competitive in the presence of a large number of
carmakers. In the first
two months of 2009, the new car market was dominated by Volkswagen (VW),
which occupies nearly 12.5% of the market share, with sales totalling 555
units. Citroën, operating
through Avtomotor, sold 471 vehicles to take a
10.6% share. The third position is shared by Ford Motor
and Gorkovsky
Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ), each occupying a 10.5% share and selling 371
vehicles
each. Up until this time last year, Opel was the best-seller
thanks to its network of ten dealerships. In
2009, however, it occupies
fifth place after annual sales plummeted from 1,009 to 321 units, giving it
a
market share of just 7.2%.
In contrast to sales of passenger cars,
the commercial vehicles segment has performed well in 2008. Total
sales of
trucks and buses reached 4,115 in 2008, representing an increase of 24%.
Mercedes-Benz was
the leading brand in 2008, with growth clocking in at
18.3%, giving it a market share of 35.2%. However,
the rapid growth of
Iveco has made the margins for companies reaching top position much narrower,
and
in 2009, BMI expects the company to overtake Mercedes. However, there
have been reports that sales for
trucks and buses deteriorated
significantly in December. This was because clients were delaying
purchases while they waited to see how the economic situation developed.
Indeed, in February 2009, total
sales of trucks and buses stood at 195. If
sales continue at this rate then 2009 will witness a near 50%
contraction.
This is understandable as industrial producers scale back production,
resulting in less demand
in the road haulage sector.
According to
estimates from the National Statistical Institute (NSI), more than half of the
trucks imported
into Bulgaria come from Greece. In fact, the NSI estimates
that out of the total truck-based trade between
Bulgaria and EU nations,
more than two-thirds are Greek imports. Bulgaria has a strong national and
international haulage sector due to the country' s geographical position close
to Greece, Turkey, and the
Black Sea. This, along with EU accession, has
driven growth in commercial vehicles sales. In 2008,
Bulgaria was one of
the world' s fastest-growing commercial vehicles markets, albeit from a low
base.
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