Public Joint Stock GAZ : GAZ Group Goes to Bulgaria

Sofia, Bulgaria, 25 November 2021 - GAZ Group has started selling its GAZelle NN Euro 6. It is the company's first product available in Bulgaria. You can choose from eight various modifications of the new light commercial vehicle. Avto Union JSC, the largest automotive holding company in Bulgaria and GAZ Group's partner, will be responsible for distribution, warranty maintenance and servicing of GAZ products.

GAZ Group starts selling its GAZelle NN 3.5t LCV in Bulgaria with a GAZ-branded show room and service center opened in Sofia. More GAZ centers will open in other Bulgarian cities next year, including Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv, Ruse and Stara Zagora.
Eight modifications of GAZelle NN will be offered for sale, including dropside versions with a standard or an extended platform, a 3-seat or a 7-seat cab as well as panel vans with 4 cargo compartment options: 7.5/9.5/11.5/13.5m3.
The vehicle comes with a Volkswagen 2.0L 136 h.p. 340 Nm Euro 6 engine and a 6-speed gearbox designed in-house by GAZ. It demonstrates better traction dynamics performance of a loaded vehicle, reduces fuel consumption as well as noise and vibration levels. The gearbox lifetime is now extended to 300,000 km, while its torque can be up to 450 Nm.
GAZelle NN is not just a new LCV model, it is a founding father for a new generation of GAZ vehicles. It is a platform for further development to be, for many years, the base for new models and versions of GAZ commercial vehicles.

Milen Christov, GAZ Partnership Director, Avto Union:
- Our company has a 15-20% market share in Bulgaria. We expect to get a 30% share in the LCV segment with GAZelle NN. We sold about 140 vehicles even before the official launch date. It means that the product is interesting and attractive to our customers. Three out of 10 largest logistics companies in Bulgaria have GAZelle NN vehicles in their fleet already. The largest contract was with DPD, a courier delivery company. We also received a pre-order from Bulgarian Ikea. They will test drive the vehicle to make a decision on fleet renewal. Other companies, including retailers, construction and production companies, are also interested in the new product and they bought 1-3 vehicles to test them. When you buy a GAZelle NN, you get a vehicle ready for operation immediately after leaving the show room. There is no need to do anything with it, just like with other European brands where you buy just an empty panel van without flooring, racks, fixtures, etc. The 2.0L Volkswagen engine is another advantage, too, as people in Bulgaria know and love it.

Leonid Dolgov, GAZ Group Export Director:
- We received a very warm welcome in Bulgaria. People here still remember GAZ vehicles from the Soviet period and they respect the brand. With the new GAZelle NN compliant with the Euro 6 emission standards we feel confident in the market. We are very happy about our partnership with Avto Union JSC, a Bulgarian distributor of cars and light commercial vehicles, which knows our market segment very well and knows what customers in Bulgaria need and want.