Car Rental in Bulgaria

TRENDS

The number of international brands in car rental in Bulgaria doubled in recent years – a monumental development for a business which saw little change since the start of the new century. In 2014, Mirkat kick-started the development of Enterprise Rent A Car under a franchise agreement with Enterprise Holdings. In 2015, Evrorentals, which developed Europcar under a franchise agreement, announced the launch of a second car rental brand – InterRent (part of the Europcar Group portfolio). Similarly, in 2016, Autotechnica, which has developed Hertz under a franchise agreement, announced that it was adding three additional brands to its portfolio – Thrifty Car Rental, Dollar Rent a Car and Firefly (part of the Hertz Corp portfolio). As a result, the number of international brands in the market increased from five at the end of 2013 to 10 at the end of 2017. This increased foreign interest in the market was reflected in an eighth consecutive year of growth in car rental sales. In 2017, sales reached BGN42 million, up 5% from the previous year in current terms, mostly thanks to the strong growth in tourist arrivals.

PROSPECTS

Over the forecast period car rental is projected to increase by a value CAGR of 4% at constant 2017 prices, to reach BGN50 million in 2022. The best performing segment within car rental will be leisure. Between 2017 and 2022, leisure car rental sales are projected to expand by a value CAGR of 4% at constant 2017 prices. As a result, by 2022, the relative share of leisure in total sales is expected to reach 49%, up from 47% in 2017, overtaking business as the main revenue generator. Business car rental sales are expected to underperform slightly, with a value CAGR of 3% at constant 2017 prices over the forecast period. Insurance replacement car rental sales will perform in line with the overall market, growing by a value CAGR of 4% and maintaining its relative share of 4% of total sales. The key growth driver for leisure car rental will be the expected rise in inbound tourists, reaching a total of 11 million in 2022, up from 9 million in 2017.

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