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6th August, 2026

Hungary remains near EU bottom in car ownership



Hungary had one of the lowest rates of passenger car ownership in the EU in 2025, with 461 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, matching Romania and ahead of only Latvia, according to Eurostat data.

Italy remained the EU leader with 709 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by Finland (675), Cyprus (670) and Luxembourg (668).

A decade earlier, Hungary ranked second to last with 327 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, while Romania had the lowest rate.

The number of registered passenger cars in Hungary reached 4.37 million by the end of 2025, an annual increase of around 111,700 vehicles, or 2.6%.

However, the fleet continues to age, with the average car now 16.5 years old.

Over the past five years, the proportion of cars older than 20 years rose from 18.6% to 30.9%, while the proportion of 10-20-year-old vehicles fell from 51.7% to 41.1%.

The proportion of cars aged 5-10 years increased, from 12.7% to 15.1%, but the share of newer vehicles also declined, as cars aged 2-5 years dropped from 8.8% to 6.9%, and those under two years from 7.3% to 6%.

Sources regularly consulted, with abbreviations used in text: Népszabadság (N); Magyar Hírlap (MH); Világgazdaság (VG); Napi Gazdaság (NG); Magyar Nemzet (MN); Népszava (Nsz); Kossuth Rádió news (KR); nightly TV news (TV).

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