AutoWallis Opens to Online Sales and Austria

AutoWallis Group is opening up to online sales and the western region, the car company may acquire the company operating the JóAutók.hu and Autó-Licit.hu portals, and will enter the Austrian market with its SsangYong wholesale business, the CEO of AutoWallis Group said at a background meeting in Budapest on Wednesday.

Gábor Ormosy said that the announcements fit into AutoWallis' strategy announced last year, which still aims to more than double its revenue to over HUF 400 billion by 2025.

The acquisition of SsangYong's import rights in Austria could be a decisive new direction in terms of diversification, while the acquisition of Net Mobilitás Plc., which operates the JóAutók.hu and AutóLicit.hu portals, is a first step in the expansion towards online sales solutions, the CEO said.

Gábor Ormosy explained that the planned growth is based on the transactions completed or announced by the company so far, organic growth and planned further acquisitions.

He recalled that AutoWallis Group achieved a turnover of HUF 131 billion in the first half of this year, accounting for 67% of last year's total annual turnover. The company reported record half-year results, with more earnings per share in the first six months of the year than in the whole of last year, he added.

The AutoWallis Group is entering another country with its wholesale operations with the acquisition of the rights to import SsangYong vehicles in Austria. This brings the company's presence to 15 countries and strengthens its position beyond the Central and Eastern European region, according to Andrew Prest, head of AutoWallis Group's wholesale business.

“The move complements the strategy to grow the group organically through acquisitions and to make the brands it already represents available in more and more countries," he said.

AutoWallis' revenue in 2021 increased by 121% to HUF 195 billion forints compared to a year earlier, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 244% to more than HUF 7.8 billion.