Strong auto May pulls full year into positive territory

At 46.5 percent, the all-wheel drive ratio remains on course for a record, while the market share of alternative drive systems is slowly approaching the five-percent mark.

Important brand
From January to May, 126,995 new passenger cars hit the roads in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein, 217 vehicles or 0.2 percent more than a year ago. This means that the market has returned to growth after five months. "May was a pleasing month overall and gives our members tailwind for the rest of the year," auto-schweiz President François Launaz commented on the results. According to the joint forecast of Swiss automobile importers, the psychologically important mark of 300,000 new passenger cars should be surpassed for the seventh time in a row this year.

Detailed evaluation
In terms of engine types, the gasoline engine was, as usual, the most popular choice with a market share of 57.8 percent in the first five months (+1.4 percentage points). Diesel engines were not quite able to maintain their record level from the previous year, falling back slightly to a market share of 37.4 percent (-1.8 percentage points). Alternative drive systems were able to increase unit sales by 10.8 percent by the end of May, which translates into a growing market share of 4.8 percent (+0.4 percentage points). Electric cars with and without range extenders (+30.3 and +19.3 percent respectively) are benefiting from increased demand, as are hybrid vehicles powered by gasoline and electric motors (+13.6 percent).

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