2011 Full Year Best-Selling Car Brands and Manufacturers in Switzerland

Volkswagen was again the best-selling car manufacturer in Switzerland in 2011. Audi, Ford, Renault, and Skoda followed VW with the most new passenger vehicle registrations in a growing Swiss auto market.

Volkswagen Emblem
© Volkswagen Media Service

In 2011, Volkswagen easily maintained its traditional position at the top of the list of the best-selling car brands in Switzerland. VW sold new passenger vehicles in Switzerland than second-place Audi and third-placed Ford combined. Most car manufacturers had a good year in Switzerland with the Swiss car market expanding by 8.4% in 2011 to 318,958 new car registrations, the first time the Swiss market exceeded 300,000 new passenger vehicle registrations since 2001.

List of the Top 30 Best-Selling Car Brands in Switzerland, 2011

Car sales statistics released by Auto Schweiz show the top-selling car manufacturers in Switzerland for the full year 2011 as follows:

Ranking Car Brand / Manufacturer Cars Sold in 2011 +/- %
1 Volkswagen 40,594 20.0
2 Audi 18,502 9.4
3 Ford 18,400 15.2
4 Renault 18,323 7.5
5 BMW 17,532 9.2
6 Skoda 17,470 21.4
7 Opel 15,978 -2.0
8 Peugeot 15,186 1.1
9 Mercedes 14,037 15.1
10 Toyota 13,335 -2.9
11 Citroën 12,984 -1.9
12 Hyundai 9,976 59.6
13 Fiat 9,849 -11.3
14 Nissan 9,486 20.0
15 Volvo 8,478 21.6
16 Seat 8,314 6.8
17 Suzuki 8,240 11.5
18 Mazda 7,387 -6.3
19 Subaru 7,283 -13.0
20 Honda 5,851 -17.2
21 Dacia 5,823 17.3
22 Mitsubishi 5,580 19.7
23 MINI 4,581 20.8
24 Alfa Romeo 4,106 5.3
25 Kia 3,876 16.7
26 Chevrolet 3,435 16.2
27 Porsche 2,178 18.2
28 Smart 2,148 -5.1
29 Land-Rover 1,803 21.2
30 Jeep 1,518 55.7
Others 6,705
Total Swiss New Car Market in 2011 318,958 8.4

Source: Auto Schweiz

The Swiss Car Market in 2011

Most automobile manufacturers in Switzerland had a good year in 2011. Helped by the strong Swiss franc, official car importers were eventually forced to pass the currency savings on to new car buyers allowing many Swiss drivers to pay significantly less for cars in 2011 than in previous years. Car sales in December 2011 totaled 30,483 the best ever monthly figure for the Swiss car market.

The list of top-ten best-selling car brands in Switzerland saw several changes during 2011 compared to 2010. Volkswagen maintained its traditional position at the top of the list by selling more than double the number of cars of its closest competitors. VW increased its share of the Swiss car market in 2011 by just over a percentage point to 12.7%.

VW-subsidiary Audi replaced Renault in second position while Ford improved from sixth in 2010 to the third-most-popular car brand in Switzerland in 2011. Despite selling more cars, Renault slightly underperformed on the Swiss car market and slipped to fourth position. BMW maintained last year’s fifth place.

VW-subsidiary Skoda saw the largest percentage growth of the top-ten best-selling car brands in Switzerland in 2011 and moved up two positions from last year. Opel continues to struggle and slipped from fourth to seventh. The Opel Astra was nonetheless the fourth most-popular car in Switzerland in 2011.

Peugeot slipped one position from last year while Mercedes-Benz, which dropped prices across the board by 15% during the latter parts of 2011, reentered the top ten. Toyota, like many other Japanese automobile manufacturers, had a difficult year and slipped one place with weak sales.

Korean manufacturer Hyundai was the most improved car brand in Switzerland in 2011. Hyundai sales increased by almost 60% to move the Korean car manufacturer from twentieth place in 2010 to twelfth best in Switzerland in 2011. In neighboring Germany, Hyundai entered the top-ten list for the first time.

Switzerland’s favorite car models in 2011 were the VW Golf, Skoda Octavia, and VW Polo.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.