In 2018, investments were made for over BGN 200 million  in factories related to the automotive industry, which will reveal 3200 new jobs in the country.

This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Economy Lilia Ivanova at the opening of a conference dedicated to the Italian design in the automotive sector, which took place in Sofia, reported Econ.bg

The forum was organized by Confindustria Bulgaria and Automotive Cluster, and the official guest of the event was engineer Paolo Pininfarina, chairman of Pininfarina AD, one of the most influential names in the world design of cars, presenting achievements and trends in the field of car design, interior and architecture.

The Deputy Economy Minister pointed out that in recent years the development of the automotive sector in Bulgaria has been extremely positive and dynamic and our country has become an attractive investment destination in the automotive industry.

According to her, there are already 220 companies in the industry with over 50,000 people manufacturing components for each of the world's largest carmakers.

"We expect the positive development trend to continue this year, given that eight new projects of potential investors in the sector are currently underway," she said.

Lilia Ivanova also highlighted the very good economic relations with Italy, which is among the leading trading partners of Bulgaria.

"Nearly five billion euros is the trade between the two countries in 2018, which makes the Italian state a second trade and economic partner of our country for the past year," the Deputy Minister of Economy announced.