"Lada" was the best-selling car in Bulgaria 30 years ago

The largest quantities of Ladas in the history of the Bulgarian automobile market were delivered a little over 45 years ago, during the era of developed socialism. This happened in 1978, when a total of 33,800 cars of the Volga Automobile Plant were sold in our country, with nearly 1/3 of them being available only for foreign currency at Korekom.

"Lada" was the best-selling car in Bulgaria 30 years ago

In the transitional political and economic period of the first half of the 1990s, the Lada continued to be the best-selling car in Bulgaria, with three main reasons for this - the popularity of the brand, the relatively affordable price, and the ability to pay in levs (unlike all other new cars, which were initially sold only for dollars or German marks).

The biggest market success for Lada during the transition period was achieved in 1993 with 9,100 cars sold out of a total of 19,676, which means about 46.5% market share. Second place in the ranking is for Daewoo with only 1,811 units.

During this period, it seemed that Lada had every chance of maintaining its leading position in the market, as in 1994 it again topped the sales rankings with 4,336 cars out of a total of 13,566, which means about 31.2% market share. It held the top spot for the next two years, when, however, the quantities sold began to decrease drastically.

During the crisis year of 1997, which will be remembered for hyperinflation and the imposition of the currency board, Lada was no longer even in the top three in sales. The undisputed favorite in the ranking, not only then, but also for the entire period between 1997 and 2000, was the South Korean company Daewoo, which had previously almost without exception been in second place in sales in our country.

Despite the severe economic challenges facing the Bulgarian economy, by the late 1990s inflation was under control and private business began to develop more successfully. Incomes were progressively increasing, and all new cars on the Bulgarian market were now sold for leva.

The transitional stage, during which they could still only be purchased with foreign currency (as they once were in Korekom), is irrevocably going down in history, and with it the halo of Lada is fading. Western competition is increasingly unleashing its real potential, and after several successful years at the top of the market, the Daewoo brand is giving way, and between 2001 and 2006 the leading position is taken by Peugeot. During this period, Lada is already well behind in the ranking, after brands such as Citroën, Ford, Renault, Škoda, Opel, Toyota and many others. In 2001, when the best-selling car in our country was Peugeot with 2,221 units out of a total of 13,365, Lada managed to sell only 504 cars.

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Car parts AutoPower

In the transitional political and economic period of the first half of the 1990s, the Lada continued to be the best-selling car in Bulgaria, with three main reasons for this - the popularity of the brand, the relatively affordable price, and the ability to pay in levs (unlike all other new cars, which were initially sold only for dollars or German marks)

The biggest market success for Lada during the transition period was achieved in 1993 with 9,100 cars sold out of a total of 19,676, which means about 46