Hungary 9-month new car sales up 14.1 pct

BUDAPEST, Oct 16, 2002; Reuters reported that Hungarian new car sales rose 14.1 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2002 to 124,565 units, the Hungarian Association of Car Importers (HACI) said on Wednesday.

     Among the top 10 importers, Volkswagen and Fiat were the only two to post lower sales in an expanding market.

     Total sales of the Volkswagen group -- including Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda models -- amounted to 22,120 units, second only to Suzuki

     SALES OF TOP 10 HUNGARIAN CAR IMPORTERS

     Q1-Q3 Q1-Q3 Change Market share

     2002 2001 (pct) (pct)

     Suzuki* 26,058 21,437 +21.6 20.9

     Opel 16,873 16,229 +4.0 13.5

     Renault 12,198 11,882 +2.7 9.8

     Volkswagen 9,280 10,744 -13.6 7.4

     Peugeot 8,760 7,403 +18.3 7.0

     Skoda 8,075 6,267 +28.8 6.5

     Daewoo 6,938 3,800 +82.6 5.6

     Citroen 6,063 5,012 +21.0 4.9

     Ford 5,501 4,555 +20.8 4.4

     Fiat 5,425 5,524 -1.8 4.4

     * Suzuki figures are wholesale data.