Fewer and Fewer New Cars Sold in Hungary

In August, 8,951 new passenger cars were registered in Hungary, more than 10% fewer than a year earlier, according to DataHouse – a Carinfo.hu report quoted by the financial portal portfolio.hu.

This means that the Hungarian car market has shrunk further – down 10.4% compared to August 2022. Looking ahead to 2023, the picture is slightly more positive, with 73,879 new cars registered in Hungary in the first eight months of the year, a 3.2% drop compared to the same period in 2022.

It is also worth recalling that the Hungarian Association of Motor Vehicle Importers (MGE), in its forecast at the beginning of the year, estimated that 100,000 new cars would be sold in Hungary in 2023, which would represent a drop of around 10% compared to last year.

"However, if we add to all this the fact that the number of new cars registered in the European Union increased for the twelfth consecutive month in July, and that the biggest car markets saw strong double-digit growth in the first seven months of the year, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Hungarian car market is suffering," portfolio.hu writes.

The latest statistics also showed that Toyota sold the most passenger cars last month with 1,344 units, giving the brand a market share of over 15%. Suzuki was second on the list with 952 new cars sold and a market share of nearly 11%, followed by Skoda, Volkswagen and Kia.

In August, 1,524 new small commercial vehicles were registered in Hungary, down nearly 5.2% compared to the same period in 2022. Of the individual brands, Ford sold the most units, 347 units, in the Hungarian car market, with a market share of nearly 23%. Toyota came second with 317 vehicles sold, while Renault took third place with 163 units sold in August.

The number of large commercial vehicles registered in August was 778, an increase of 87% compared to the same period last year. Last month, 35 new buses were registered compared to 41 units in August 2022. And the 668 motorcycles registered in August were up nearly 69% from August last year.