Hungarian car registrations up in first eight months in 2015
According to Datahouse, in the first eight months of 2015, 59,485 new passenger cars and SUVs were registered, up 11.1 percent from the same month the year before (2014: 5,935).
In the first eight months, the most popular brands were: Ford (7,779), Opel (6,476), Skoda (5,231), Volkswagen (5,061) and Suzuki (4,121). Hungarian-made models have been highly popular this year with three locally assembled models making an appearance in the TOP 10 (see table below).
After a rather weak August, in April, 5,958 vehicles were registered (-0.6 percent) in Hungary, including 4,997 passenger cars (+4.8 percent) and 1,335 light trucks (-21.6 percent). Brand sales included 827 Ford, 686 Opel, 512 Suzuki, 489 Skoda and 437 Volkswagen cars.
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| The Octavia remains unbeaten in Hungary |
With a number of its engine variants manufactured in Szentgotthárd, Opel is leading the passenger car segment with 5,703 units sold locally this year. The first eight months were successful for Kia (+38.77 percent, 2,280 units), Mercedes-Benz (+41.94 percent, 1,330 units), Fiat (+50.58 percent, 1,420 units), Mitsubishi (+104.4 percent, 789 units), Jeep (+123.08 percent, 145 units), Subaru (+36.36 percent, 90 units), Tesla (+33.33 percent, 4 units), Jaguar (+36.36 percent, 15 units) and Smart (+1,340 percent, 72 units).
The biggest losers were Citroen (-34.55 percent, 826 units), Land Rover (-16,67 percent, 60 units), Peugeot (-12,21 percent, 1265 units), Lancia (-35,71 percent, 36 units), Alfa Romeo (-62,79 percent, 16 units) and Ferrari (-66,67 percent, 1 unit).
The most popular vehicles in the first four months were compacts or small family cars (C-segment), accounting for 28.25 percent of all sales in Hungary. The best-selling car in this segment was the Skoda Octavia with 3,203 registrations.
Compacts were followed by SUVs (J-segment) with a market share of 19.49 percent (best-selling model: the Esztergom-made Suzuki Vitara with 1,522 units) and small cars (B-segment) with a 12.59 percent market share (best-selling model: Hungarian-made Suzuki Swift with 1,382 units sold).
The best-selling MPV (M-segment) was the Opel Meriva (401 units), also available with Hungarian-made engines, followed by the Hungarian-made Mercedes-Benz B-Class, while the most popular large family car (D-segment) was the Volkswagen Passat (965 units).
The best-selling mini car (A-segment) was the Fiat 500 (1,060 units) and the most popular car in the executive segment (E-segment) was the BMW 5-series (273 units). The best-selling sportscar (S-segment) was the Volkswagen W CC (69 units) and the most popular luxury car (F-segment) was the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (80 units).
The best-selling light truck was the Fiat Ducato (970 units), while the best-selling LCV was the Dacia Dokker Van (409 units). The best-selling pickup truck was the Ford Ranger (794 units), while the most popular van was the Opel Vivaro (203 units), according to Datahouse.
HGV sales were dominated by 16-ton+ vehicles. New 3.5ton+ vehicles are almost exclusively bought by international haulage firms (+17.13 percent, 3,385 units in total).
Bus registrations saw a significant surge during the summer months, although year-on-year the latest data by Datahouse shows a 16 percent decline (252 units).
Top 20 new cars in Hungary through August 2015
1. Skoda Octavia 3,203 units
2. Opel Astra 1,898
3. Ford Focus 1,657
4. Suzuki Vitara 1,522
5. Suzuki Swift 1,382
6. Volkswagen Golf 1,272
7. Dacia Duster 1,124
8. Fiat 500 1,060
9. Opel Corsa 1,057
10. Suzuki SX4 S-Cross 1,019
11. Fiat Ducato 970
12. Volkswagen Passat 965
13. Nissan Qashqai 909
14. Opel Mokka 887
14. Kia Cee'd 887
16. Ford Mondeo 884
17. Skoda Rapid 868
18. Ford Ranger 794
19. Ford Transit 779
20. Ford Kuga 721
