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Bulgarrenault



Bulgarrenault (or Bulgar Renault) was an automobile produced in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the result of a collaboration between Metalhim (a Bulgarian defence firm) and Bulet (a Bulgarian export trade organization). Production lasted for five years (1966-1970), during which the factory in Plovdiv produced two Renault models: the Renault 8 and the Renault 10.

In the middle of the 1960s, following the initiative of ETO (export trade organization) Bulet, a joint-venture was formed between Bulet and SPC (state production cooperative) Metalhim, with the purpose of building passenger cars. At the time, ETO Bulet was involved in the trade of all kinds of manufactured goods, while SPC Metalhim was a manufacturing cooperative uniting all national defense factories in Bulgaria. The basic idea was to purchase complete knock down (CKD) kits of passenger cars from abroad with Bulet's available hard-currency reserves, and then to assemble them in the factories owned by Metalhim. Several offers had already been made by foreign car manufacturers (such as Renault, Fiat, Simca, and Alfa Romeo), but Renault's offer was deemed to be the most attractive one. (The French automobile manufacturer's first offer was made on May 27, 1963, concerning the assembly of the Renault 4 and Renault 4L passenger cars.)

On July 30, 1966, the Council of Ministers issued a formal authorization to SPC Metalhim to begin negotiations with Renault through the mediation of ETO Bulet. (Initially, the assembly of the cars was intended for a factory in the town of Cherven Bryag.)

The official state newspaper Rabotnichesko Delo in its issue #261 of September 18, 1966, announced that ETO Bulet and Renault had signed a contract, and only two days later 10 passengers cars Renault 8 were shown at the Plovdiv Fair, rumored to have been assembled in the Military Factory in the town of Kazanlak. The cars were branded Bulgarrenault, and the upper left side of their windscreen bore a tricolor sticker with an inscription Bulet.


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