As if out of nowhere to double leadership
Two Teslas at the top of the sales charts
Who would have thought it: After six months, Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y are the best-selling new cars in Switzerland. Even if the Model 3 was already the Swiss favorite in 2021, things didn’t look so rosy for a long time.
Published: 06/07/2022 at 01:59
So now it has also hit Tesla: In the second quarter of the year, the sales of the US electric pioneer stagnated – because from April to June there were plant closures in Shanghai, China, due to Corona. Conversely, the news for Tesla on the Swiss market is all the better.
Model 3 and ModelY Greetings from positions 1 and 2 in the Swiss new car charts. A prestige success for the purely electric brand, which was once only ridiculed by the established brands when the first model was launched in 2008. The Americans were already able to set the first exclamation mark last year: the Model 3 was the best-selling car model in Switzerland in 2021.
A ship makes the difference
The double lead is still surprising, because the two Stromer 3 and Y stormed out of nowhere to the top (see graphic). At the beginning of 2022, the Model 3 was ranked 222nd with eight units redeemed in January, and the Model Y was 216th with nine. In March, Tesla made a big leap, and the two electricians ended up in 3rd and 4th place on the model hit list.
As the? Most Teslas come by ship from the US. In December, one arrived and gave the Model 3 the annual victory in 2021. Then came a dry spell. With the next ship in March, the number of Tesla bestsellers jumped again to around 1000. In April and May, with eight and two registrations, there was little going on again. Then came the June freighter: 2201 Model 3. The Model Y increased less by leaps and bounds, but in May there were 300 units – because part is new from the Tesla factory in Grünheide near Berlin (D).
Batch delivery in Europe
This “ship phenomenon” is not new. This is especially the case with Japanese brands and their models built in Japan (e.g. all Mazda models). But this year the numbers are rising and falling due to the shortage of parts, plant closures due to the war in Ukraine or the pandemic, including those produced in Europe. This ensures an unusually lively change among the top 10 bestsellers: 17 models were in the top 10 at least once in the first six months.
Made one of the biggest jumps next to the Teslas Dacia Sandero back: in June over 500 pieces, i.e. a third of all Sandero sold in 2022. The Romanian swings like a yo-yo in the statistics: January rank 6, February rank 17, May 20. And now in June 9th place. So it is still available at the moment the longtime Swiss favorite VW Golf and also helps Dacia to rank 9th among the best-selling brands – an absolute best value for the brand.
Up and down at the top
Losing ground on the other hand, for example the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Peugeot 208. Until May Top 5, in June at the end of the Top 10. But the worst drop out of the Top 10 was experienced the electric Audi Q4 E-Tron. While registrations were still in third place in January, it fell back to 39th place in June.
For that could the combustion engine counterpart Audi Q3 almost made it onto the podium after a mixed start: in January and February the compact SUV was still in 15th/14th place. Then it steadily increased and is now ranked 4th. Before the Tesla ship came along, it was even ranked 2nd. BMWs X3 became the shadow of the Q3 and can almost always be found one rank behind it.
The sovereign Czech
But there is one constant: the longtime hit list dominator Skoda Octavia. March was rather weak with around 200 registrations, the VW Tiguan overtook. But otherwise the Octavia remained at the top until the Tesla ship in June. If production stays constant for him and the Model Y, the two could continue to go head-to-head — and every three months the Model 3 could slide in between when a ship arrives.
A certain fluctuation has always been normal. Even before the delivery crisis – because of the behavior of the buyers. Some don’t order, but take what’s available at the dealer. You can be curious, because the top 10 bestsellers of the year are far from set in stone.