Falling New Car Sales in Hungary

New car sales in Hungary started to decline somewhat in 2021: 12% fewer new cars were sold in the first month of this year than in January 2020, which was still epidemic-free.

In January this year, 8,867 new passenger cars were sold, including 154 electric and 245 plug-in hybrid models, according to data by the Hungarian Vehicle Importers Association (MGE).

Of the light commercial vehicles, 1,772 were sold. 30% of new cars purchased did not reach domestic end-users as they were withdrawn from the Hungarian market due to re-export or other business reasons.

MGE notes that the predominance of petrol cars in sales is felt to the detriment of diesels. The share of full and plug-in hybrid cars is relatively high in the EU, at around 4.5%, but still low in volume relative to market size.

New commercial vehicle sales rose 29% to 328, while buses fell 76 percent to 39% in January. At the same time, 152 new engines were launched, 37% more than a year earlier.