Market: stable growth gives hope
SALES In July, 18,599 new passenger cars were put on the road in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. The level of new registrations is thus 18.7 percent higher than in the same month last year.
Compared to July 2022, which was still characterized by severe supply restrictions due to the parts shortage, the 18.7 percent increase is significant and gives hope for a better future. At the same time, however, the lag of around 27 percent compared with July 2019 shows that the pandemic-induced market decline has not yet been overcome. Since the beginning of the year, 142,351 new cars have been registered, a good 40,000 fewer than four years ago.
No reason for great euphoria
However, the fact that the recovery trend in monthly new registrations compared with the previous year has continued for the eleventh calendar month in a row is cause for optimism. Nevertheless, the current market level is no reason for excessive euphoria.
Auto-Schweiz media spokesman Christoph Wolnik: "Despite the sustained recovery compared to 2022, we have to see how severely the availability of new vehicles was restricted last year. Although the situation has improved, it is still tight. Thus, the 300,000 new passenger car mark will remain a long way off this year."
30 percent models with plug
The market share of vehicles that can be charged via the power grid continues to grow steadily and stood at 29.2 percent in July. Of these, the 3649 purely electric vehicles account for 19.6 percent, or around two-thirds. Plug-in hybrids also increased by 28 percent to 1777 new registrations. Taken together, alternative drives account for 54.9 percent of new registrations this year, making them the majority of the market for the first time in seven months. The detailed figures by brand are available on the website.
