The market for new passenger cars in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein remained at the low level of the previous year in May. After five months, the number of new registrations, totaling 91,341 vehicles, is exactly on par with the previous year's level. A turnaround is not in sight. The overall market remains significantly below the European level due to overregulation in Switzerland and below the industry's expectations. Additional regulatory burdens for companies and consumers, as well as a growing discrepancy between political objectives and market reality, are the consequences.
Plug-in vehicles saw an increase in May. The demand for electrified vehicles developed positively in May. Battery electric passenger cars and plug-in hybrids have constituted 23.3 and 12.1 percent of new registrations since the beginning of the year, respectively. They have gained market share compared to the previous year, with their combined market share now accounting for over a third of all new registrations (35.4 percent). More than a third of all customers see advantages in switching to electric drives. Purely electric drives (BEVs) have increased by 15.5 percent compared to the previous year since the beginning of the year, while plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) have grown even more strongly with a plus of 20.1 percent. In contrast, hybrid drives are stagnating (+0.3 percent), and new registrations of purely petrol and diesel drives continue to decline. These figures highlight that the political objective of rapidly developing the electric mobility market is far out of reach.
Thomas Rücker, director of auto-schweiz, comments: "The current figures are a sobering signal for our industry. Unlike the rest of Europe, many new vehicle models with different technologies do not motivate the Swiss to buy more new cars. Although the demand for purely electric drives developed positively in May, it was only marginally. Therefore, the emission targets are not achievable for our members." Rücker further points out that the BEV share has been between 20 and 23 percent since 2023.
Detailed numbers by brand are available on www.auto.swiss. The evaluations by auto-schweiz are based on federal surveys, and the data might be preliminary and not final.
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Frank Keidel, Media Spokesperson
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frank.keidel@auto.swiss