In the first four months of 2008, sales of new vehicle rose by 27.42 per cent on the year to 20 119 units, data of the Union of Car Importers in Bulgaria (UCIB) revealed. The figure does not include data from several vehicle importers.

In January-April, car sales rose by 24.3 per cent to 18 687 units. Opel led the rankings with 2 285 units. Toyota came second with 1 961 cars, followed by Ford and Volkswagen with sales of 1670 and 1571 new cars, respectively.

Sales of trucks and buses rose 90.4 per cent on the year to 1432 units. Iveco emerged as the best-sold brand with 546 units and 21 buses sold. Mercedes was second with 407 trucks and eight buses and Volvo third with 280 trucks and three buses.

Motorcycle sales reached 168 units, up from 137 during the same period a year ago. Peugeot accounts for half the sales with 79 bikes sold.