Sales of new cars were weighed down in Switzerland in the first half by the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, as well as the difficulties of delivery and supply of raw materials. The enthusiasm for electric vehicles is confirmed.
In the first six months of the year, new car registrations plunged 12% to 109,600 units, the umbrella group Auto-Suisse said in a statement on Friday. In June alone, the decline reached 18.2%.
While petrol and diesel engines continue to decline, with a respective drop of 27.3% and 30.6%, registrations of electric cars continue to soar with a jump of 46.1%.
“Unfortunately, the increase in the number of public charging stations is not able to follow that of electric vehicles,” lamented the president of the federation Albert Rösti. The risk of a power shortage this winter is also curbing demand in this segment.
In terms of market share, the German Volkswagen (10%) remains the favorite brand of Swiss drivers, followed by BMW (8.9%) and Mercedes-Benz (8.4%). The American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has meanwhile improved its presence in Switzerland to 3.9%, after only 1.8% market share in the first half of 2021.
/ATS