Hungary Tops Alternatively Powered Vehicles Sales

Hungary produced the largest increase in new passenger car registrations in the first quarter of 2020 among the member countries of the EU and EFTA in the alternatively powered vehicles (APV) category that includes all vehicles not running on petrol or diesel (that is, electric chargeable, hybrid and other alternative powered ones.

According to the latest report by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), the electrically‐chargeable vehicle segment significantly increased its market share in the first quarter of 2020, rising to 6.8% (from 2.5% in Q1 2019) against the backdrop of the overall decline in passenger car registrations due to the COVID‐19 outbreak. By contrast, demand for diesel and petrol vehicles tumbled dramatically, although petrol‐powered cars still account for more than half of the EU market.

From January to March 2020, electrically‐chargeable vehicles (ECV) substantially benefited from the decline in diesel and petrol demand. ECV sales more than doubled in the first three months of the year, totalling 167,132 cars registered across the EU. Both the battery‐electric (BEV) and plug‐in hybrid (PHEV) segments provided a strong boost to this growth.

The first quarter of 2020 saw 578,338 new passenger car registrations in the member countries of the EU and EFTA in the APV category, which is a 48% increase compared to a year before. Within that, Hungarian registrations showed the largest increase (187.4%) with 6,683 vehicles, 4,358 more that in the corresponding period of 2019.