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At a special ceremony at the National Police Directorate, Acting Minister of Interior Kalin Stoyanov handed over the keys to 90 new Skoda Kodiaq cars to Bulgarian police officers. The handover ceremony took place on the great Christian holiday of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cars were consecrated by representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Despite the numerous criticisms of the Ministry of Interior, the leadership of the state department continues to follow its set priorities, one of which is to provide its employees with the technical means to perform their direct duties. The cars will be used by the Traffic Police Directorate and are Skoda Kodiaq 2.0 TSI models with 190 hp, with a 7-speed automatic DSG gearbox with two clutches and 4x4 drive. The crossovers were purchased with funds from the Traffic Safety Fund and were delivered by the official Skoda importer in our country, Euratec Auto. Another 137 Skoda Kodiaq crossovers are to be delivered, with the value of all 227 cars being BGN 15,886,845 excluding VAT. It also includes a 5-year full warranty. The off-road vehicles, which police officers will be able to rely on in various terrains and weather conditions, are fully equipped according to police requirements, namely wing-type light and sound signaling, TETRA radio communication and power ports for their mobile printing devices, which will be used to issue a document in the event of an established violation by law enforcement agencies and others. "This is another small step in the battle we are waging with road traffic injuries. I am convinced that with such small but sure steps, we will emerge the winners in this battle," said Acting Minister of the Interior Kalin Stoyanov. He recalled that this is a public procurement contract, under which a total of 462 vehicles should be delivered.

They will be designed to ensure the work of the police officers performing traffic control on first-class roads with intense traffic. They are BMW 340i station wagons and are equipped with post terminals for on-the-spot payment of road fines by offenders. During the ceremony, Minister Stoyanov highlighted the two leading priorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs – dealing with illegal migration and the fight against road trauma. He noted that with regard to the first topic, the migrant pressure has been controlled, while work on the second is “extremely high priority”. From his words, it became clear that since the beginning of the year, 47 fewer people died on the country's roads compared to the same period in 2023. The Minister of Power emphasized that with the new high-speed cars of the “Road Police” another big step is taken towards victory in the battle with road traumatism. To a journalist's question whether the Ministry of Interior can afford such cars, the maintenance of which is not cheap, Stoyanov replied that the ministry can afford them and “we should work with such cars”.