Bulgaria on the Road to Driverless Vehicles

Jerusalem, 5 April, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Sofia (BTA) – As cities in Europe and Japan prepare to roll out autonomous taxis and self-driving vehicles, where does Bulgaria stand in this process? When will autonomous vehicles hit Bulgarian streets?

In response to a BTA inquiry about the development of intelligent transport systems (ITS) in Bulgaria, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said the country is at a key stage in deploying these technologies. The requirements of Directive 2010/40/EU, which establishes a framework for the development of ITS in Europe, have been implemented, along with its amendment – Directive (EU) 2023/2661, which prepares Member States for connected and automated mobility, including autonomous vehicles.

The Ministry noted that amendments adopted in 2025 to the Ordinance on the conditions and procedure for the deployment of intelligent transport systems, along with the Public Transport Act, have created the necessary conditions to accelerate the introduction of ITS in the country. Additional primary and secondary legislation is planned to fully regulate cooperative and automated mobility, including autonomous driving.

The deployment will take place once economic conditions make the technology viable, Assen Nachkov, a PhD student at the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) at St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, told BTA. He said it is difficult to give a precise forecast, as the adoption of such technology will have a significant impact on the economic structure of the transport industry.

Earlier in 2026, INSAIT presented DiffSim Trinity (diffsimtrinity.insait.ai), a series of three scientific developments that could change the way autonomous vehicles are trained to understand the world and make decisions.

Nachkov said that INSAIT focuses on improving artificial intelligence for vehicle perception and planning capabilities. A significant part of the work is dedicated to so-called “differentiable simulation” – a new approach to modelling the behaviour of autonomous vehicles in various situations, he explained. “We have developed some of the largest-scale experiments for training autonomous vehicles using this method, as well as the first artificial intelligence algorithms that use it to improve planning both during training and in real-world deployment,” Nachkov added.

In early March, Associated Press reported that London’s streets are expected to welcome robotaxis soon, while in mid-February dpa said that German carmaker Volkswagen is preparing to launch self-driving minivans in a third European city and its first outside Germany. At the end of 2025, Toyota opened an experimental “Woven City” in Japan featuring autonomous cars and robots.