Hungary 5 months 2012: Astra #1 – Has Suzuki got its mojo back?

Opel Astra. Picture by Ciprian Mihai, all rights reserved.

* See the Top 20 best-selling models by clicking on the title! Many thanks to Zsolti *

Hungarian car sales continue to recover brilliantly after a couple of hellish years, up 20% year-on-year over both the first 5 months of 2012 to 22,829 registrations and in May at 4,581 units. Thanks to Zsolti I am able to share with you a Top 20 models ranking for 2012 year-to-date. The Opel Astra confirms it is now Hugary’s favourite with 1,395 sales and 6.1% share. Note this figure include 2 generations of the model the H with 820 units and J with 575. The Skoda Octavia, leader in 2011, is #2 with 1,257 sales and 5.5%.

Suzuki Swift

There was a time when Suzuki dominated the Hungarian market head and shoulders with models built locally, even monopolising the podium in 2007 with the Swift, SX4 and Ignis. The economic crisis that saw Hungarian sales plunge by 60% in 2009 and by 26% in 2010 also took Suzuki with it: the Swift, best-seller in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, dropped to #4 in 2009 and #10 in 2010 before disappearing from the Top 10 completely in 2011. Will 2012 be the year Suzuki was reborn in Hungary? It looks like it, with the Swift up from a dismal #18 over the first 3 months of the year to a shiny #3 with 909 sales and 4% share over 5 months…

Dacia Duster

The other great performer in the Top 20 is the Dacia Duster: below the Ford Focus down to #4, it is up 2 spots to a brilliant 5th place with 693 units sold and a solid 3% market share. The Renault Fluence, Skoda Fabia, Ford Fiesta and Nissan Qashqai all lose ground while the VW Golf reclaims its spot in the Top 10 after finishing #4 both in 2010 and 2011.

Previous post: Hungary 3 months 2012: Opel Astra takes the lead

Previous year: Hungary Full Year 2011: Skoda Octavia spreads its wings

Full 5 months 2012 Top 20 Ranking Table below.