Switzerland’s auto market loses momentum in 2024, as volume drops 5.1% totalling merely 239,294 sales. EV segment hits the brakes in 2024, snapping a three-year positive streak (-10.1%).
Market Trend and Outlook
Switzerland’s economy is projected to grow 0.9% in 2024, driven by household consumption and Switzerland’s robust pharmaceutical sector, which accounts for nearly 30% of exports. The property market also remains strong, cushioned by long-term mortgage structures that shield homeowners from rising borrowing costs. High demand for housing, fueled by increased immigration and limited supply, has kept prices stable.
Declining inflation and stabilised interest rates put the Swiss economy in a position of stability. Inflation has fallen to 1.4%, aided by the strong Swiss franc, which has curbed the cost of imports. With the Swiss National Bank pausing its tightening cycle and energy prices remaining steady despite geopolitical tensions, businesses and consumers are benefiting from improved confidence and clearer economic visibility.
Switzerland’s EV market lost momentum in 2024, breaking a three-year winning streak with a 10.1% drop in sales volume. Despite previous growth, the EV segment revealed its heightened sensitivity to negative shocks, declining faster than the broader market
Tesla held its EV dominance despite a mere 2% growth. Volvo exhibited outstanding sales climbing into 2nd spot, while Volkswagen and Skoda contracted in double-digits.
The broader Swiss auto market suffered from the sluggish economic growth, as it fell 5.1% totalling merely 239,294 sales in 2024. This trend was marked by declining sales in the last 5 months of the year.
Looking at cumulative data from 2024 brand-wise, the new leader was Volkswagen with 24,072 sales (-15.1%), followed by BMW at 21,887 (+2.5%) and Skoda at 21,117 (-0.2%)
In 4th position ranked Mercedes at 20,353 sales (+1.9%), followed by Audi at 17,894 sales (-11.5%), Toyota with 13,410 registrations (+0.9%) and Volvo -up 5 spots- with 9,653 units sold (+23.3%).
Tesla ranked in 8th with 8,930 auto registrations (+2.0%), followed by Hyundai -up 1 spot- with 8,859 units sold (+4.8%). Closing the top 10 Renault -down 1 spot- reported 8,845 (+3.0%).
Looking at specific models, reported in the dedicated article, the Tesla Model Y was still the best-selling model with a 6.9% year-on-year growth, followed by the Toyota Yaris with a 7.6% growth.
Medium-Term Market Trend
The Swiss auto market in the past decade has had many ups and downs. From 2010 to 2019 sales remained above the 300k mark, reaching a maximum in 2015 at 345,219 sales and a minimum in 2018 at 304,871 registrations.
In 2020 with the arrival of the pandemic sales dropped for the first time bellow 300k reaching 236,825 (-23.9%).
In 2021 the Swiss auto market slightly recovered reporting a 0.7% growth in sales. While in 2022 sales reached 225,833, the lowest level of the last decade (-5.3%). A combination of factors are behind the current industry struggle: the disruption in the global supply chain caused by a lack of raw materials, in particular for the production of microchips and Governments push towards Evs.
Despite, the Swiss auto market in 2023 closed with a total of 251,959 sales and increasing 11.6% compared to the previous year.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Groups and top 10 Models.
