New car registrations in Bulgaria returned to growth in February after falling by more than 19% in January, according to the latest data published Tuesday by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
A total of 3,766 new cars were registered in Bulgaria last month, marking an 11.1% increase compared to February 2025. The growth partially offsets the significant decline recorded in January 2026, when registrations dropped by 19.4%.
As in January, registrations of new diesel cars continued to decline in February, falling by 23.1% year-on-year. In the previous month, diesel vehicles saw an 18.9% decrease.
Bulgaria ranked fifth among EU countries in terms of annual growth in new car registrations in February, following Estonia (82.4%), Malta (71.9%), Croatia (14.7%), and Italy (14%).
Registrations of all other types of vehicles in Bulgaria increased in February: petrol cars rose by 10% to 2,926 units, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) surged by 70% to 215 units, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) jumped by 90.6% to 61 units, and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) climbed by 99% to 209 units.
Across the European Union, new car registrations increased by 1.4% year-on-year in February, reaching 865,437 units.
Both petrol and diesel models recorded declines, falling by 17.9% and 12.8%, respectively.
At the same time, battery electric vehicles grew by 20.6%, plug-in hybrids by 32.1%, and hybrid electric vehicles by 10.1%.
The Volkswagen Group retained the largest market share in the EU in February at 26.6%, followed by Stellantis with 18.3% and Renault Group with 9.9%.
In 2025, new car registrations in Bulgaria increased by 15.1% compared to 2024, reaching 49,419 units. Across the EU, registrations rose by 1.8% last year to 10,822,831 units.