New car sales increase at a slow speed in 2012

The market for new cars has stirred up this year and sales are increasing, albeit at a slow speed. According to estimates of leading car dealers in Bulgaria, a minimal growth of some 5-10% will be registered. “The market hit rock bottom in 2010. Regretfully, no rapid increase is expected and sales are forecast to remain at the levels of 2011”, said Victor Mezan, Sales Manager at Mitsubishi. “The eventual stir-up in the sector will depend on the economic and political stability in the Eurozone and the achievement of economic growth in Bulgaria which, in turn, will give customers more positive expectations for the future and the purchase of a new car will come on the agenda again,” explained the expert. His forecast is for a 5-8% growth of new car sales.

According to Balkan Star, the general economic downturn is over but this does not mean that the levels of 2007 – 2008 will be reached soon. Sales of minibuses that can be used for transportation of a large family or a group of passengers do not show any indication of growth, and even maintaining the levels of 2011 would be a success. The luxury segment is showing an upward tendency in sales and all its participants on the domestic market reported growth in 2011.

At the same time, for a third consecutive year, car dealers are competing to offer discounts and extras for the purchase of new cars. The catalogues of leading companies offer a family Mercedes for €288 per month, an Audi for €267/month, an interest-free lease for an Infinity, a Citroen C1 for BGN 3 per day or a Toyota Aygo for BGN 159/month. According to Velko Lazov, when there are good offers, there are purchase deals as well. He explained that customers are already very careful in their choice, examining all the offers, and their decision takes two or three months.

Peugeot has also joined market competition, offering up to 18% discounts for exchanging an old car with a new one. Buyers can also use the discount as a down payment and buy the vehicle on lease at a 4.9% annual interest rate. For the 20th anniversary of Ford as an official partner of the Champions League, the brand offers great discounts. For example, Ford Fiesta is offered on lease for BGN 170 per month and the discount adds up to BGN 1,320 for the 5-year lease period. The discount for Ford Kuga is as much as BGN 4,600. Renault also offered discounts of BGN 3,000 to BGN 6,000. For one of the preferred urban models, Twingo, the discount may reach BGN 3,700.

Balkan Star offers entire packages for service maintenance of the purchased vehicles and customers may save up to 32% of the total cost. Mitsubishi also has such a practice.