New passenger car registrations in Hungary rose by 2% to 6,305 in March from the same month a year earlier, automotive industry monitor Jato Dynamics said. Light commercial vehicle registrations jumped 28% to 1,572 during the period. Just as in January, Ford was the overall market leader in Hungary, taking 13.6% of the market with 1,091 sales.
Opel led the passenger car segment with sales of 708, giving it 11.2% market share. The market shows no signs of change in respect of the ratio of corporate and retail sales, Jato Dynamics said. Corporate sales account for 77% of new passenger car registrations with retail sales making up 23%. The Hungarian Association of Vehicle Importers (MGE) said it expects passenger car sales to climb 15% to 75,000 this year.
Meanwhile economic news portal portfolio.hu reported that German carmaker Daimler would increase its output further this year at its Mercedes-Benz plant in Kecskemét, Hungary, primarily over expanding exports to China and the United States. The facility has manufactured a total of 150,000 passenger cars of three models in 2014, said Thomas Geier, head of the plant, in an interview with state newswire MTI last week.
via hungarymatters.hu, MTI and portfolio.hu photo: autoblog.hu