2012 (Q3) Switzerland: Best Selling Car Manufacturers and Brands

Volkswagen remained the top-selling carmaker in Switzerland during the first nine months of 2012. VW was followed by Audi and Skoda.

Volkswagen Wheel
Photo: Volkswagen Media Services

The Swiss new passenger vehicle market remained positive during the first three quarters of 2012. The best-selling car manufacturers and brands in Switzerland remained Volkswagen, Audi, and Skoda. The car market in Switzerland grew by 5.5% during the first nine months of 2012, and although still positive is far less buoyant than at mid-year when growth was almost 12% stronger than in 2011.

The Swiss Car Market in 2012 (Q3)

A total of 245,526 new passenger vehicle registrations were recorded in Switzerland in the period January to September 2012. This represents a growth of 5.5% over the same period in 2011. However, the market is showing signs of weakening with sales in September down around 20% from 2011. (September 2011 was an exceptionally strong month.)

Mid-year, the Swiss market was still showing strong signs of growth with sales 12% stronger than in the previous year. However, this was partly due to a change in taxation, which saw a sharp increase in the sale of heavier cars prior to July 2012.

Best-Selling Car Manufacturers and Brands in Switzerland in 2012 (Q3)

Car sales statistics released by Auto Schweiz show the following as the top 30 best-selling car brands in Switzerland for the period January to September 2012:

  January to September
    2012 %Share 2011 % Change
  TOTAL 245,526 100.0 232,738 5.5
1 Volkswagen 31,823 13.0 29,596 7.5
2 Audi 16,449 6.7 13,460 22.2
3 Skoda 14,239 5.8 12,760 11.6
4 Ford 13,393 5.5 13,282 0.8
5 BMW 13,379 5.4 12,283 8.9
6 Mercedes 12,981 5.3 10,213 27.1
7 Renault 12,361 5.0 13,488 -8.4
8 Opel 12,022 4.9 11,957 0.5
9 Toyota 9,821 4.0 9,550 2.8
10 Peugeot 9,693 3.9 11,102 -12.7
11 Citroën 9,202 3.7 9,644 -4.6
12 Hyundai 9,073 3.7 7,154 26.8
13 Fiat 7,522 3.1 6,975 7.8
14 Nissan 7,037 2.9 7,197 -2.2
15 Seat 6,722 2.7 5,784 16.2
16 Subaru 6,249 2.5 5,669 10.2
17 Volvo 6,179 2.5 5,928 4.2
18 Suzuki 5,498 2.2 5,726 -4.0
19 Mazda 5,263 2.1 5,639 -6.7
20 Honda 4,405 1.8 4,304 2.3
21 Dacia 4,093 1.7 4,223 -3.1
22 Mitsubishi 3,661 1.5 4,357 -16.0
23 MINI 3,264 1.3 3,381 -3.5
24 Kia 3,214 1.3 2,712 18.5
25 Chevrolet 2,915 1.2 2,524 15.5
26 Land-Rover 2,667 1.1 1,161 129.7
27 Alfa Romeo 2,258 0.9 3,076 -26.6
28 Jeep 1,848 0.8 1,068 73.0
29 Porsche 1,770 0.7 1,700 4.1
30 Smart 1,368 0.6 1,679 -18.5
Quelle: auto-schweiz / ASTRA/MOFIS

Top-Selling Car Brands in Switzerland in 2012 (Q3)

Volkswagen easily maintained its position as the best-selling car manufacturer in Switzerland. VW sales increased by 7.5% year-on-year, which show a weakening in Volkswagen’s positions – mid-year, VW sales were up 22%. Volkswagen can expect sales to lag during the run-up to the model change of the top-selling Golf in November 2012.

Volkswagen-owned Audi and Skoda maintained their second and third positions as best-selling car brands in Switzerland. Audi showed strong growth, while Skoda’s increase is still solid but much less than mid-year. Ford sales were flat but sufficient to keep its fourth place.

BMW overtook Mercedes again to gain fifth position. Mercedes sales were up 27% while the increase was a remarkable 41% mid-year.

French manufacturers Renault, Peugeot, and Citroen had weak sales with Peugeot again slipping behind Toyota. Opel similarly underperformed the market with flat sales.

Land Rover and Jeep showed the largest percentage increase in sales during the first nine months of 2012. As with Mercedes and BMW, the increase is sharply down on the 2012 mid-year figures. SUVs are popular in Switzerland – the Subaru XV even managed to push the VW Golf off its position as the top-selling car model in Switzerland in August. However, the VW Golf remains Switzerland’s favorite car during the first three quarters of 2012.

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.