Neighboring countries that are not in the EU have a total of 21 car plants, we have zero so far

This year, once again, there was talk of car production in Bulgaria. After a series of failures since the 1960s and passing through FIAT, Renault, Moskvich, Rover and most recently through the Great Wall just a few years ago, we are now expected to return to the map of Europe in car production with the investment of Next.e.GO in Lovech. Where we are expected to throw ourselves into even the most modern part of this industry - electric cars. At the moment, however, our country still does not appear on this map of Europe, at least in terms of the production of whole cars.

On the other hand, this is not the case if this same card is seen in the production of car components. And here Bulgaria already has a lot to boast about. In the last 10-15 years, a number of factories have been operating and continue to operate in Bulgaria, producing and supplying all kinds of parts and components for the global automotive industry. Starting with cables and electrical equipment, we go through dashboards, displays, air conditioners, seats, headlights, windows, engine blocks and even the microchips that have been so scarce in the last year or so. Also, companies based in our country develop software for all kinds of brands. Factories in Bulgaria were opened by Yazaki, Behr-Hella Thermocontrol, Montupet (now called Linamar), Bosch, VOOS, Kostal, Witte, Sensata, Magna and many others.

Customers for all of the above are names from the global automotive industry such as Mercedes, BMW, General Motors, Volvo, FIAT, Renault, Ford, Nissan, Peugeot and many others. Despite all this, Bulgaria is still one of the very few countries in Europe (continental, not the EU), in which there is not at least one factory from which to assemble cars to go on the roads.

Unlike many others, including neighbors, including non-members of the European Union. For example, in northern Macedonia, the Belgian company Van Hool assembles buses. FIAT cars are produced in Serbia. The local bus manufacturer Ikarbus also works in parallel. Whose history has in common with our factory "Balkan" near Lovech, where it is expected in a year or so to start production of small electric cars e.GO Life. In general, before the Second World War, both factories produced airplanes, and then at some point cars. But while in Lovech the production of the Muscovites is now only history, in Zemun the plant today makes buses. There is also a third company that makes trucks, buses and specialized vehicles under the FAP and Dongfeng brands.

A comparison with Turkey cannot be made at all, as there are more than 10 car manufacturers there, among which there are even own brands. Our southeastern neighbor produces buses, vans, cars, vans and trucks, as well as engines. Its brands on the market are Mercedes, Setra, BMC, Hyundai, Karsan, FIAT, Dodge, RAM, Peugeot, Citroen, Opel / Vauxhall, Ford, Honda, Isuzu, Otokar, Toyota, MAN, Neoplan, FUSO, Russian GAZelle and Sable, and others. If we look north of us, we will see how in Romania not only Dacia continues to be produced and the brand is developing quite well, as are the Roman trucks, both productions dating back to socialist times. Meanwhile, Citroen's failed production in Craiova, which stopped in the 1990s, became a Ford plant.

Not to mention Hungary, which at the time of the socialist era, unlike us, had no car production, and today there are as many as 6, and a seventh is under construction. Thus, the Hungarians produce engines, cars, electric buses, and cars with the brands Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Suzuki and BYD come out of their factories.

Slovakia, although without any car production in history, managed to attract an investment from Renault and today the plant in Novo mesto produces cars from both the French brand and Smart. And its neighboring Croatia, which was at war even in the 1990s, now makes its own production of Rimac electric hypercars.

What does the overall map of continental Europe show? There are 290 factories on the continent producing some type of car or engine for them, according to data from the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA). There are 185 of them in EU countries, which no longer include the United Kingdom, and some have more than one type of production. 137 make cars, 37 - light trucks, 54 - heavy trucks, 58 - buses, and 71 produce engines.

That Germany is a leader in car production with its 41 plants is unlikely to surprise anyone. Second, when we talk only about the EU is France with 30, and third - Italy with 22. Followed by Spain and Poland, with 16 factories each, the Netherlands with 10, the Czech Republic and Sweden with 8 each, Belgium with 7, etc. If we look outside the European Union, the first place is occupied by Russia with 34 car plants. Second is Britain with 30 and third is Turkey with 17.