2015 (Full Year) Switzerland: Best-Selling Car Brands

VW Golf Variant at Geneva Auto Show 2015In 2015, new passenger vehicle registrations in Switzerland increased by 7.2% to 323,783 cars with Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz the top-selling brands. The strong franc sent the Swiss car buying with the full year 2015 total second only this century to the record 2012.

The Swiss Car Market in 2015 (Full Year)

2015 was a difficult year for the Swiss auto industry but not for Swiss buyers. The sudden 15% strengthening of the franc versus the euro in mid-January 2015 promised significant savings to Swiss car buyers. In contrast to previous appreciations of the franc, official importers were quick to lower prices at the start of 2015 to prevent parallel grey imports.

New passenger vehicle registrations in Switzerland in 2015 increased by 7.2% to 323,783 cars compared to 301,942 cars in 2014. The Swiss car market has exceeded 300,000 cars since 2011 with the 2015 total only slightly smaller than the 328,139 cars sold in 2012 – another year helped by a strong franc, and the second highest year on record.

Year Cars Sold in Switzerland % Change
2015 323,783 7.2
2014 301,942 -1.9
2013 307,885 -6.2
2012 328,139 2.9
2011 318,958 8.4
2010 294,239 10.6
2009 266,018 -7.8

Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Switzerland in 2015

The top-selling car marques in Switzerland in 2015 according to car sales statistics released by Auto Schweiz were:

Brand Sales 2015 Sales 2014 % MS 2015 % Change 15/14
Total 323,783 301,942 100 7.2
1 Volkswagen 42,212 40,146 13 5.1
2 BMW 24,039 21,057 7.4 14.2
3 Mercedes 22,884 18,384 7.1 24.5
4 Audi 22,225 20,949 6.9 6.1
5 Skoda 20,972 19,517 6.5 7.5
6 Renault 14,821 11,747 4.6 26.2
7 Opel 13,769 13,384 4.3 2.9
8 Ford 13,704 12,949 4.2 5.8
9 Peugeot 12,587 11,423 3.9 10.2
10 Citroën 11,517 11,268 3.6 2.2
11 Seat 10,451 9,378 3.2 11.4
12 Mazda 9,989 7,591 3.1 31.6
13 Hyundai 9,937 11,001 3.1 -9.7
14 Toyota 9,881 11,275 3.1 -12.4
15 Fiat 9,025 9,029 2.8 0
16 Suzuki 8,351 8,515 2.6 -1.9
17 Nissan 7,968 7,166 2.5 11.2
18 Volvo 7,251 6,867 2.2 5.6
19 Subaru 6,011 6,277 1.9 -4.2
20 Dacia 5,396 4,784 1.7 12.8
21 Kia 5,039 4,886 1.6 3.1
22 MINI 4,861 4,463 1.5 8.9
23 Porsche 4,305 3,165 1.3 36
24 Mitsubishi 4,042 3,565 1.2 13.4
25 Land-Rover 3,808 3,490 1.2 9.1
26 Jeep 3,705 3,274 1.1 13.2
27 Smart 3,409 1,681 1.1 102.8
28 Honda 3,345 4,501 1 -25.7
29 Alfa Romeo 1,249 2,104 0.4 -40.6
30 Jaguar 980 622 0.3 57.6

Top Ten Best-Selling Car Brands in Switzerland in 2015

The top-ten list of best-selling carmakers in Switzerland in 2015 was, as is almost tradition, led by Volkswagen but in the highly competitive Swiss car market it was also no surprise that many other brands changed places compared to a year ago. All top-ten best-selling car brands in Switzerland sold more cars in 2015 than in 2014 but several underperformed the broader market.

Volkswagen remained the market leader in Switzerland in 2015. VW slightly underperformed the market but its share only shrunk marginally from 13.3% to 13%. Despite uncertainty created by the emissions scandals that broke in September, Volkswagen’s market share actually increased during the final quarter of the year. The VW Golf was again the favorite car of the Swiss, as it has been every year since 1994.

BMW was again the second best-selling car brand in Switzerland for the second consecutive year. BMW sales were up 15%

Mercedes-Benz sales in Switzerland in 2015 increased by a quarter allowing Mercedes to pass both Audi and Skoda from fifth to third place this year. Of the ten best-selling car brands in Switzerland, only Renault increased sales more.

Audi narrowly underperformed the broader Swiss market in 2015 but its performance was much weaker than competitors BMW and Mercedes. Audi slipped from third to fourth. Skoda similarly slipped one position despite narrowly outperforming the market.

Renault was the most improved of the top car brands in Switzerland in 2015. Renault improved two places from eighth to sixth. As a result, Opel and Ford both slipped one place. Both brands underperformed with Ford just narrowly failing to catch up with Opel.

Peugeot remained at ninth with sales up by 10%. Citroen reentered the top-ten listing despite flat sales at the expense of Toyota that slipped to 14th.

Best-Selling Car Brands in Switzerland in 2015

A few further salient features from the new car sales statistics for Switzerland in 2015:

  • Smart more than doubled its sales in Switzerland and was by far the most-improved brand. Jaguar, Porsche and Mazda also registered strong growth. Mercedes-Benz added the largest number of cars.
  • Alfa Romeo and Honda were the worst performers while Toyota and Hyundai sales were sharply down too.
  • A record 130,793 cars sold in Switzerland in 2015 was four-wheel drive for a record 4×4 market share of 40.4%.
  • Diesel cars also set new records of 125,892 cars and 38.9% market share.

The VW Golf was again the best-selling car model in Switzerland in 2015.

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.