AutoWallis Group reported performance that significantly exceeded market averages in vehicles sales for the first quarter, while the supply shortage due to the lack of chips is affecting all brands in the sector. It is important to note that AutoWallis has not yet identified any slowing in demand: the number of orders in the first quarter is 41 percent higher year-on-year, which is in part attributed to the fact that some earlier orders remain open due to difficulties in delivery. The direct effect vehicle manufacturers are experiencing in deliveries is tangible in the growth of the sales margins of new vehicles and in the increase in the demand for used cars. Margins increased in the latter sector as well, meaning in aggregate the chip shortage is having a beneficial effect on AutoWallis’s margin production capacity and profitability.

In the first three months of the year, the number of vehicles sold by the AutoWallis Group increased by 11.1 percent to 7,410 (which growth was entirely organic, as all earlier acquisitions were closed in the base quarter). Of the Company’s two units, sales volumes in the Distribution Business Unit increased by 15.6 percent to 5,266 units, primarily thanks to the SsangYong and Isuzu brands. The Retail & Services Business Unit saw the sale of 1,659 new and 485 used vehicles, equal to a drop of 1.1 percent and growth of 11.8 percent, respectively. The combined strength of the brands represented and sold by the Group and the diversification of the brand range is illustrated by the fact that the Hungarian passenger vehicle market experienced a slowdown of 10.9 percent*. The Retail & Services Business Unit experienced additional expansion in the services it offers: the number of service hours increased to 29,679 (+0.8%) and Sixt, represented by the AutoWallis Group, more than doubled the number of rental events (+123.1%). At 29.2 percent, the growth in the number of rental days was a little less, amounting to 39,185. The figures indicate that shorter term rentals, generally for tourism purposes and with higher coverage, has increased, as the number of rental days per rental has decreased.

* Market data by DataHouse.