site.btaACEA: Bulgaria Leads EU in New Car Registrations in 2023

In 2023, Bulgaria saw the largest increase in new car registrations EU-wide, by 31.5% year-on-year, to 37,724 units, according to the latest report of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). Croatia saw the second-largest increase of 31.3%, with 57,700 new car registrations in 2023.

In December 2023, the EU car market experienced a 3.3% decline, recording 867,052 units in sales. This drop can be attributed to the high baseline performance in December 2022. December also marked the first month of contraction after 16 consecutive months of growth. Notable increases were observed in top markets such as France (+14.5%) and Spain (+10.6%). In contrast, the German car market declined by a significant 23% in December. 

In 2023, the EU car market concluded with a solid 13.9% expansion compared to 2022, reaching a full-year volume of 10.5 million units.
 
In 2023, plug-in hybrid registrations (PHEV) saw the largest increase in Bulgaria, by 151,8% to 355 units, followed by battery-electric vehicles (+119.3%) to 1,816 units and hybrid electric vehicles (+79.5%) to 693 units. 
New petrol car registrations increased by 31.1% to 28,800 and diesel car registrations went up by 13.2% 6,032 units. 
 
In December alone, new car registrations in Bulgaria grew by 55.5%, with 3,123 units sold. This was the third largest increase after Ireland (+65.1%) and Estonia (+ 58.3%). 

All EU markets grew in the past year except for Hungary (-3.4%). Double-digit gains were recorded in most markets, including three of the largest: Italy (+18.9%), Spain (+16.7%), and France (+16.1%). Conversely, Germany recorded a more modest 7.3% year-on-year increase, influenced by its weaker December performance.

Battery-electric cars established themselves as the third-most-popular choice for buyers in 2023. In December, market share surged to 18.5%, contributing to a 14.6% share for the full year, surpassing diesel, which remained steady at 13.6%. Petrol cars retained their lead at 35.3%, while hybrid-electric cars claimed second spot, commanding a 25.8% market share.