Milara International will invest over USD 22 million in a new factory for electric vehicle manufacturing and, in particular, small cargo e-vehicles with an alternative drive. The R&D behind the product was carried out entirely by Bulgarian engineers, says Krasimir Petkov, CEO of Milara International. He also shared with Bloomberg TV Bulgaria, the company’s ambition to reach production capacity of 10 000 units by mid-2024.
The investment linked to the development of the vehicles amounts to USD 60 million, with the main export markets being Israel, France, Italy, Germany and the USA. However, Bulgaria does not fall out of the sales focus. Some municipalities in the country have already purchased electric trucks manufactured by Milara in the past – again for logistics purposes and transportation.
Milara is also dedicated to creating a closed ecosystem in the field of electromobility in Bulgaria, with education being a key pillar in achieving this ambition. In Plovdiv, the company opened a robotics laboratory in the local Technical University. In addition to that, vocational schools in the city are also introducing specialties related to electric mobility and vehicles.
Mr. Petkov shared his belief that Bulgaria will also begin to attract back its population that lives abroad as the quality of life, conditions for doing business and education in the country improve, which will also help the country become a strong competitor in the field of e-vehicle manufacturing, R&D, and also the booming semiconductor industry.
Read more at Bloomberg TV Bulgaria
