Hungary May 2020: Suzuki and Vitara reclaim control in worsening market (-54.5%)

The Suzuki Vitara is the best-selling vehicle in Hungary in May. Picture autonavigator.hu

Following the same trend as Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, new car sales in Hungary fare worse in May at -54.5% year-on-year and 6.472 units than they did in April (-50.3%). The year-to-date tally is now down -25.7% to 45.315 sales. After a few months of disruption due to a 7.500€ government incentive for families with 3+ kids buying a 7-seater car that saw the Dacia Lodgy top the charts between February and April, the Hungarian rankings return to some kind of normality in May.

Local producer Suzuki (-62.5%) is up 6 spots on last month to reclaim the brands top spot for only the 2nd time in the past 9 months at 10.8% share, distancing Toyota (-35.2%), Ford (-58.3%) and Dacia (-51.7%) while Volkswagen (-42.6%) rounds out the Top 5. Fiat (#7) and Mercedes (#9) rank particularly high just as both Opel (-75.2%) and Skoda (-70.7%) freefall. Suzuki’s start of the year was so poor though that it still only ranks #5 YTD with Toyota (+20.4%), Volkswagen (+3.2%) and Dacia (+9.2%) in the lead.

Model-wise, the Suzuki Vitara (-40.4%) is back in charge, up from #5 in April, but here too the road to recovery may be shaky as it only ranks #4 so far in 2020 with 3.4% share. The Fiat 500 (-14.7%) surges to #2 and earns a #6 spot YTD while the Suzuki SX4 S-Cross (-76.9%) climbs back onto the podium despite a ghastly fall. The Skoda Octavia (-79%) and Toyota Corolla close the Top 5, the Dacia Duster (-62.7%) remains at #6 but the Dacia Lodgy falls off a cliff, going from #1 in April to #7 in May. The Ford Tourneo Custom (-56.9%) is up one spot to #9 and the Toyota RAV4 posts another Top 10 finish.

Previous month: Hungary April 2020: Toyota (+5.9%), Dacia (-2.2%) defy market down -50.3%

One year ago: Hungary May 2019: Suzuki SX-4 S-Cross back on top, now #1 YTD in market up 10.4%

Full May 2020 Top 10 brands and models below.