Market: No real recovery in sight for the time being
STILL IN MINUS The automotive market in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein closed 2022, the third year of crisis in a row, with a significant minus of 5.3 percent compared to the already below-average previous year.
The Swiss car market closed 2022, a year characterized by severe supply constraints, with 225,934 new passenger cars, well below the usual pre-crisis mark of around 300,000 new registrations.
By contrast, a new record was set for the market share of alternative drive systems at 50.8 percent. This means that every second new car in 2022 was electrified - either as a full, mild or plug-in hybrid or as a 100 percent electric car.
The reason is the lack of components
Auto-Schweiz media spokesman Christoph Wolnik: "The further decline is mainly due to the shortage of components, which massively affected the production and delivery of new vehicles throughout the year. The situation had improved somewhat in the second half of the year, but normality is still a long way off."
The market data for December fit into this picture, with 24,737 new registrations, slightly up on the prior-year figure of 24,523. However, based on the fourth consecutive monthly increase, the outlook for 2023 is positive.
Share of plug-in vehicles on the rise
2022 was another record year for the number and market share of battery-electric passenger cars. 40,173 new electric cars represent a year-on-year increase of 26.2 percent and a market share of 17.8 percent. In the case of plug-in hybrids, both new registrations and market share declined slightly, mainly due to the focus of many manufacturers on purely electric models.
Together, the 58,528 plug-in vehicles account for more than a quarter of new registrations for the first time in a full year, at 25.9 percent. Hybrids without an external charging option account for a further quarter, or just under 24.8 percent. Gasoline-powered vehicles continue to account for the largest single market share with 84,815 new registrations, while new diesel cars still account for 11.6 percent.
