No. of New Passenger Cars Registered Up in Hungary

29,561 new passenger cars were registered in Hungary in the first quarter of this year, 1.2% more than in the same period last year, the Hungarian Association of Motor Vehicle Importers (MGE) told MTI on Monday.

The professional organization assessed the growth as encouraging, indicating that this is mainly due to the improvement of the semiconductor shortage, which is still causing significant supply problems for almost all manufacturers at the beginning of 2022.

They also reported that the market for electric cars has grown significantly, with 30% more electric cars registered in the first quarter of 2023 than in the first three months of 2022.

The market for plug-in hybrid models also grew, with 12% more plug-in hybrids registered compared to the previous year. Electric cars now account for 5.5% of the market and plug-in hybrids for 4.8%. This is a clear improvement, but still a low proportion compared to Western European markets, they added.

According to the MGE, the first quarter saw an increase in the market for large commercial vehicles, with 14.2% more vehicles registered, or 1,430 units. The sales trend for heavy road trailers followed the trend of the large commercial vehicle market, with 906 road trailers registered, up 9.0% compared to 2022.

The bus and coach market grew by 119% with 171 units, mainly due to a weak last year. The growth in the market is a very important development, as the need for further and rapid renewal of passenger transport is urgent for safety and environmental reasons, they wrote.

MGE sees the growth in all categories except used vehicles as a positive development.

MGE estimates that the passenger car market is expected to decline by around 10% this year, with the Hungarian car market continuing to perform above the 100,000 unit mark in 2023.