2013 (Full Year) Switzerland: Best-Selling Car Models

In 2013, the Volkswagen Golf was again the favorite car of the Swiss followed by the Skoda Octavia and VW Polo.

Blue VW GOlf Variant
Volkswagen Golf – Switzerland’s Favorite Car in 2013 © Volkswagen Media Services

In 2013, the Volkswagen Golf maintained its traditional position at the top of the best-sellers’ list of car models in Switzerland. The Skoda Octavia was again the second most popular car with the VW Polo again third. Exotic and sports car continue to find buyers in Switzerland with Porsche cars selling very well too.

New passenger vehicle registrations in Switzerland contracted by 6.2% to 307’885 cars in 2013 with Volkswagen the best-selling manufacturer in Switzerland. 2012 was the second best year on record for car sales in Switzerland.

Best-Selling Car Models in Switzerland in 2013 (Full Year)

The 20 top-selling car models in Switzerland in 2013 according to car sales statistics released by Auto Schweiz were:

Rank 2012 Rank 2013 Marque Model Cars Sold 2013
1 1 VW Golf 13’408
2 2 Skoda Octavia 9’980
3 3 VW Polo 5’664
18 4 BMW 3er 5’653
4 5 VW Tiguan 5’303
21 6 Audi A3 4’428
10 7 Audi A4 4’148
8 Peugeot 208 4’148
30 9 Suzuki SX4 4’003
22 10 BMW 1er 3’874
5 11 VW Passat 3’650
12 12 Toyota Yaris 3’614
11 13 Renault Clio 3’611
6 14 VW Touran 3’552
15 Mercedes-Benz A-Klasse 3’519
17 16 Nissan Qashqai 3’432
8 17 Ford Fiesta 3’372
13 18 Ford Focus 3’334
15 19 Skoda Fabia 3’220
20 20 BMW X3 3’173

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars in Switzerland in 2013 (Full Year)

The VW Golf easily remained the most popular car in Switzerland in 2013. Of the top three best-selling car models in Switzerland, the Golf was the only one to have increased the number of cars sold in 2013 compared to 2012.

The new VW Golf VII entered the Swiss market early in 2013 and managed to easily outsell the Skoda Octavia, which launched a new model during the second quarter of 2013. Sales of the Octavia slipped slightly leaving the Golf as the only car model to have sold more than 10,000 cars in 2013 in Switzerland.

Sales of the VW Polo were also slightly down but just enough to keep the Polo in third place.

The BMW 3 Series was one of the big winners in 2013 – the new model was launched early in the year allowing the BMW 3 Series to move up the sales list from 18th place in 2012 to fourth this year. The BMW missed out on third place by only 11 cars.

The VW Tiguan remains Switzerland’s favorite SUV but slipped one place from a year ago.

The Audi A3 had a good year improving from 21st place in 2012 to sixth this year. The larger Audi A4 improved to seventh from tenth.

The Peugeot 208 entered the top ten list as a new model while the Suzuki SX4 shot up from 30th to ninth and the BMW 1 Series from 22 nd to tenth.

Cars dropping out of the top-ten list of best-selling car models in Switzerland in 2013 include:

  • VW Passat from 5th to 11th – a new model is due in 2014
  • VW Touran down from 6th to 14th – a new model is only due in 2015
  • Mercedes C Class down from 7th to 21st – a new model is due early in 2014
  • Ford Fiesta down from 8th to 17th
  • Opel Astra down from 9th to 26th – there were no Opel models in the top 20.

This year, six of the top-ten cars were from the Volkswagen group compared to seven last year, including the top six best-selling car models in 2012.

Popular Sports and Exotic Cars in Switzerland in 2013 (Full Year)

The Swiss car market is hotly contested with around 400 different models on offer. Expensive cars continue to find buyers in Switzerland.

The hotly contested market for large German sedans was again won by the Porsche Panamera, which easily outsold the competition from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes.

Audi A8 118
BMW 7er 163
Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse 189
Porsche Panamera 232

Porsche models continue to sell well in Switzerland with the Porsche Cayenne and Porsche 911 selling in numbers similar to the Mini, Ford B Max, Nissan Micra, and Toyota Verso.

A few sales figures for exotic and expensive cars from the data provided by Auto Schweiz:

Marque Model Cars Sold in 2013
Aston Martin Cygnet 24
Aston Martin DB9 23
Aston Martin DBS 3
Aston Martin Rapide 20
Aston Martin V12 Vantage 27
Aston Martin V8 Vantage 66
Aston Martin Vanquish 56
Aston Martin Virage 4
Audi A8 118
Audi R8 43
Bentley Continental GT 151
Bentley Flying Spur 25
BMW 7er 163
Bugatti Veyron 4
Ferrari 458 128
Ferrari 599 GTB 1
Ferrari California 48
Ferrari F12 132
Ferrari FF 50
Lamborghini Aventador 24
Lamborghini Gallardo 21
Maserati Ghibli 45
Maserati GranCabrio 39
Maserati Granturismo 35
Maserati GT MC Stradale 12
Maserati Quattroporte 59
McLaren MP4-12C 30
McLaren P1 1
Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse 189
Mercedes-Benz SL-Klasse 172
Mercedes-Benz SLS 51
Morgan 4/4 10
Morgan Aero Super Sports 2
Morgan Plus 4 10
Morgan Roadster 3000 5
Porsche 911 942
Porsche Boxster 238
Porsche Cayenne 999
Porsche Cayman 106
Porsche Panamera 232
Rolls Royce Ghost 13
Rolls Royce Phantom 15
Rolls Royce Wraith 7
Tesla Model S 213

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.