Loans drive growth in the vehicle market

2013 was a better year for utility vehicle retailers than 2012: sales grew in all categories – reveals data provided by DATAHOUSE. What is more, sales in the first quarter of 2014 were also promising. Small utility vehicles: 4.7 percent more new cars were sold in 2013 – this means 11,416 vehicles – and Ford’s share was the biggest at 20.5 percent, followed by Fiat and Volkswagen which both had a two-digit share. Ford was the leading brand among used vehicles too, followed by Volkswagen and Fiat, but in this category Renault and Mercedes also had shares above 10 percent. The market of used light trucks grew by 31.5 percent – 7,423 were registered. Utility vehicles above the weight of 3.5 tons: 19.9 percent more new and 13.2 percent more used vehicles were sold in 2013, 4,989 new trucks and 3,326 used ones were registered. DAF was the top brand among new trucks, but Volvo, Mercedes and Man also had shares above 10 percent. Used trucks: Man, Mercedes and Scania were the top three, in this order. György Balkányi, managing director of Citroën Hungária told us that their small utility vehicles are traditionally popular in Hungary. Last year Citroën was the 5th most popular brand with an 8.4-percent market share. 2014 will bring the new generation of their popular Jumpers to Hungary. ESP is a basic feature in these new-look models and they can be ordered with touchscreen navigation, cruise control, backup camera and lane departure warning. Mr Balkányi added that companies typically buy new vehicles after 5-6 years if we calculate with vehicles running 50,000km a year. Customers prefer the MNB (Central Bank of Hungary) supported, 2.5-ineterst rate loans when buying cars. Zsombor Varga, PR and communications director with Ford reckons that their sales will be boosted this spring by introducing the new 2-ton Transit and the Transit Courier van.

His experience is that utility vehicle buyers not only want comfort features such as backup camera or seat heating but also safety features like lane departure warning to come with their models. Businesses in the services sector are more motivated to buy new models because the cars they use are part of their image. Mr Varga’s experience is that typically companies and not private individuals purchase new utility vehicles, very often in an operating lease scheme. Lajos Szabó, managing director of iData Kft. told our magazine that in the fleet racking sector the focus in now not simply on traditional vehicle tracking but on services that give fleet owners more information on how employees work, the details of transportation and drivers’ driving style. One of the biggest innovations is the driving style monitoring system – by driving in a more economical style fuel use can be reduced and by driving more safely fewer dangerous situations occur. Mr Szabó added that there is growing demand from partners for the guaranteed safe transportation of goods, for instance in the case of products that require cooling. iData Kft.’s system is capable of measuring changes in temperature and humidity in the vehicle and the data is displayed on maps, so that everything can be monitored.