Market: Volkswagen is Swiss top dog
BACKGROUND The analysis of the ten most frequent offers on AutoScout24 for 2020 shows: Among new cars, almost half were SUVs or crossovers, some of which were already fully electric. German brands dominate the used car market. Switzerland is increasingly becoming an SUV country. Of the ten most frequently offered cars in Switzerland last year, four belonged to the [...]
Switzerland is increasingly becoming an SUV country. Of the ten most frequently offered cars in Switzerland last year, four belonged to the SUV or crossover model class (also compact SUVs).
These include the VW Tiguan, the Skoda Karoq, the Volvo XC40 and the Hyundai Kona. The compact class (also known as the Golf class) was equally well represented: With the VW Golf, the Suzuki Swift, the Seat Leon and the Opel Corsa, it also had four representatives in the top 10.
Of the small cars, only the Fiat 500 in the top 10
The range of sedans on offer is not exactly lavish: The best-selling car of recent years is the only representative of its species in the top 10: The Skoda Octavia - and in 2020 it took the top spot. The Fiat 500 was the only small car to make it into the top 10 in Switzerland.
Status plays important role when buying a car
Maurice Acker, National Sales Director AutoScout24: "The trend towards rather larger vehicles will continue despite the climate discussion. Certainly, status plays an important role through the purchase of such a car. In addition, there is the better overview, a higher sense of safety, the feeling of space and easier entry, exit and loading. That's important to customers today."
Purely electric models continue to gain ground
Overall, around five percent of new vehicles advertised in 2020 were purely electrically powered. In the top 10 most frequently offered vehicles, the Hyundai Kona stands out in particular. The Korean car is already offered as a pure electric vehicle in four and a half out of ten cases, and as a full hybrid in a further three out of ten cases.
Maurice Acker: "The share of alternative drives will increase significantly in the current year. We see very strong growth here. In recent months, for example, new electric vehicles have been launched as volume models, such as the VW ID.3, which could be the first pure electric vehicles to land in the top 10 in 2021."
One in four new cars with alternative drive
Although gasoline and diesel engines will still be in the majority in 2020, their dominance will no longer be as great as in previous years. Almost one in four new cars in the top 10 offerings in 2020 already had an alternative drive system (mild, full hybrid, electric or gas drive). This is also due to the stricter emissions standards that require carmakers and importers to successively reduce CO2 emissions in the overall fleet.
Clear dominance of German brands in the second-hand segment
Models from German carmakers are leading the way on the well-performing Swiss used car market. The Volkswagen Group and BMW account for nine of the ten most popular models on offer on the AutoScout24 platform.
The Ford Focus is the only non-European vehicle without a German parent company to make it into the top 10. The study examined the most frequently offered used vehicles up to six years old.
VW Golf at the top of used car sales
The Volkswagen Group is the clear top dog in this Top 10 comparison, claiming the first eight places with its models and only conceding a place to the BMW X5 in ninth place.
At the top of the Volkswagen Group's used car armada is the VW Golf, followed by the Skoda Octavia, the VW Tiguan, the Polo and the two Ingolstadt-based Audi A3 and Audi A4. The Spanish-built Seat Leon and the VW Passat sedan follow in seventh and eighth place. The Ford Focus makes it to tenth place.
