Hungarian car registrations in 2013

In the last two quarters of 2013 19,000 new passenger cars and LCVs were registered, up 15 percent compared to the same period in 2012. Although the 2013 Q1 results were 11,5 down compared to the same period in the previous year, Q2 and Q3 saw an increase of 3.6 and 17 percent growth, respectively.

In 2013 the most successful brand (both passenger cars and LCVs) in Hungary was Ford with 7,878 registrations and a market share of 11.66 percent, Opel was in second place with 9.96 percent and Volkswagen came third with a market share of 9.78 percent.

Ford Focus

In 2013 56,139 new passenger cars (up 5.8 percent - 3,082 units from 2012) and 11.418 LCVs (up 4.7 percent - 517 units) were registered in Hungary. Péter Erdélyi, the Chairman of the Association of Hungarian Vehicle Importers (MGE) said that the Association projected a 10 percent growth for 2013 compared to the previous year that in the end materialised with a somewhat lower figure.

The decline in early-2013 saw a positive turn in March, which continued, so by the end of October the market was already bigger than in the previous year. In December new car registrations matched the results of the same month in the previous year.

"Of course, we are happy for the positive turn, but we have to be cautious because these percentage values are accompanied by low sales figures. December 2013 managed to bring stable results compared to an already strong base period, which confirms the trend's positive quality better than the two-figure rises in the previous months," pointed out Erdélyi.

Opel was the most popular brand in Hungary in 2013

However, MGE still believes that this sales volume is not sufficient to maintain the quality of the sector. We are happy for, and looking forward to the follow-up of the trend that marks the development of the market, but still several years have to pass until total consolidation is achieved, emphasised the Chairman of MGE.

No significant growth is expected in company sales, accounting for 70-80 percent of total registrations, although MGE is expecting a slight increase. In 2014 the slow recovery of private sales could help the market, but this requires the livening of vehicle financing.

MGE's Chairman calls our attention to the fact that the decreased number of legal players in the market could result in significant problems in the long run for a low-volume and badly structured market such as this.

"We still believe that in order to maintain the sector's service quality, we need 85,000 new passenger cars, 15,000 new LCVs, 3,500-4,000 HGVs and 6,000 motorcycles to be sold every year. So far, only the HGV market has been able to live up to the expectations," said the Chariman of MGE.

In December the most successful passenger car brand was Opel with 704 registrations. The German brand was the most popular passenger car brand in 2013 with 6,120 cars sold and a market share of 10.9 percent in Hungary.

Suzuki, performing poorly in the past few years, is recovering nicely with a market share of 7 percent and a fifth position in the rankings. Among the brands with a Hungarian interest, Audi is 13th, while Mercedes is 15th.

Skoda Octavia: the highest-selling car in Hungary

In December the highest-selling car was the Skoda Octavia with 270 units. The Octavia was also the most successful in the whole of 2013 with a sales volume of 3,168 units.

The sales volumes of Hungarian-made vehicles were the following in 2013: 1,270 SX4 S-Cross cars, 217 Merceded B-Class cars, 159 Mercedes CLA cars, 12 Audi TT cars, 469 Audi A3 cars (including all versions) and 620 Suzuki Splash cars were registered in Hungary in 2013.

Each segment grew in 2013, the most significant positive changes were seen in the C-segment (36.03 percent), mini car segment (20.02) and SUV segment (14.16 percent).

Top 10 (passenger car and LCV) brands in Hungary (December)

Top 10 passenger car brands in Hungary (December)

Top 10 (passenger car and LCV) brands in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 passenger car brands in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 C-segment cars in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 SUVs in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 large family cars in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 small cars in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 MPVs in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 mini cars in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 executive cars in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 sports cars in Hungary (2013)

Top 10 luxury cars in Hungary (2013)

Datahouse