Peugeot: the drop in demand is the new challenge on the Hungarian car market

Zsófia Bálint reminded us that a year ago the lack of spare parts limited sales, and the brand could have had a "great" year if production could keep up with orders. Nevertheless, Peugeot performed well, he noted, its sales fell by 3.7 percent globally and by 4.6 percent in Europe.
According to his information, the brand's share in Hungary improved slightly in 2022, in addition to the 10.87 percent contraction of the entire market, Peugeot's sales fell by 10.7 percent.
Peugeot dealers in Hungary sold 3,167 vehicles last year, making the brand's share of the new car market 2.45 percent. 32 percent of sales are trucks, this segment fell by 22 percent, while the overall market fell by 23.2 percent last year.

80 percent of the brand's customers are fleet buyers, and Zsófia Bálint believes that this proportion may even increase, as private customers are increasingly disappearing from the market. He pointed out that the economic uncertainty that arose as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war damaged the interest in buying vehicles from several sides: the purchasing power of the population weakened as a result of inflation, the price of fuel rose, the price of cars rose by 30-40 percent, meanwhile the financing options drastically deteriorated.

He pointed out that the proportion of fleet buyers is shifting towards small businesses, but at the same time, the cancellation of orders has become a phenomenon in this circle as well.

He reported that the Peugeot dealerships under contract with the importer P Automobil Import Kft. were not swayed by the difficult economic environment, they rationalized their increased costs with thrift and energy investments, so none of the 29 sales points had to be closed.

Zsófia Bálint sees the sale of 3,800 vehicles in Hungary this year as realistic. In order to achieve this, great hope is attached to the 408 model that has just been introduced, with which Peugeot appears in a new market segment. The model will be available with a plug-in hybrid, gasoline, and later fully electric drive. The puretech gasoline engine version will later be equipped with engines made in the engine factory in Szentgotthárd, the production of this engine will start at this location this year.

According to Peugeot's previously announced plan, electrification will gain momentum in its production in 2023, all of its models will be available in hybrid or electric versions, and by 2025, all of its car and truck models will be purely electric. From 2030, the brand will only sell electric vehicles in the European Union, and by 2038 it will make its activities carbon neutral.

(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)