A total of 30,189 new vehicles were sold in Bulgaria in the period Jan – June 2008, according to data provided to Profit.bg from The Union Of Importers of Automobile in Bulgaria (UIAIB). Cars account for 28,001 of the total sales.

In H1 2007 the number of sold vehicles stood at 24,923, of which 23,165 cars. This is a hike of 21.13% y/y.

Opel has the most sales in H1 – 3,240 cars or a market share of 11.57%.

One in ten cars sold in H1 in Bulgaria was Toyota (9.92% market share), followed by Volkswagen and Ford with 8.74% and 8.12% respectively.

The fifth most popular brand in Bulgaria is Peugeot (7.52%). Next are Dacia (6.18%), and Citroen, Chevrolet and Skoda with a little over 5%. Number ten is Renault with importer Renault Nissan Bulgaria (4.11%).

383 new motorcycles were sold during the period, compared with 270 a year ago. Peugeot has the most sales (151 units or 39.43%), followed by Yamaha and Piaggio with 87 units (22.72%) and 84 units (21.93%), respectively.

Sales of trucks and buses are up 67% to 2,188 units. The leaders on this segment are Iveco and Mercedes, which control a combined 69% of the market.