The Hungarian government will offer owners of eligible diesel cars 5,000 forints per month until the end of the year

The Hungarian government will provide owners of diesel passenger cars with engines of up to 150 horsepower a monthly compensation of 5,000 forints until the end of the year, to cover part of the increase in diesel prices. The measure was announced on Friday by Prime Minister Péter Magyar and could apply to nearly one million vehicles.

The aid will be granted to people who owned a diesel passenger car on January 1, 2026. The first installment is due to be paid in October, and the money will be transferred automatically, without an application being submitted. The State Treasury will use data from the Tax and Customs Administration and transfer the amount to the account used to pay the vehicle tax. In the absence of a registered bank account, the money will be sent by post.

The prime minister explained that the compensation corresponds to the difference between the previously protected price and the current price of diesel for a typical monthly fill-up. People who bought diesel cars after January 1 will benefit from a separate mechanism.

The measure also applies to agricultural producers or individual entrepreneurs, provided the passenger cars are registered in their names. Separately, farmers will be able to fully recover, until the end of the year, the excise duty on diesel used in agricultural activities.

Péter Magyar ruled out a return to a cap on diesel prices, estimating that it would cost the budget between 50 billion and 100 billion forints per month, compared with approximately five billion for the compensation scheme.