New car sales shrink by 5 percent in 2024
Keystone-SDA
Significantly fewer new cars were sold in Switzerland in 2024 than the previous year as demand for electric cars and plug-in hybrids declined.
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A good 239,500 new cars were put on the road in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein last year, the Swiss Automobile Importers Association announced on Friday. This is 5% less than in the previous year. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the number of registrations was around 300,000.
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There is still no sign of a pandemic catch-up effect in vehicle procurement, complains Auto Schweiz. As a result, the average age of the Swiss passenger car fleet continues to rise – to the detriment of the environment and road safety.
Alternative drive systems have achieved a record-high market share of almost 62% of newly registered vehicles. However, the association also sees a flaw here: while full and mild hybrids increased by 17% and now account for 33.6% (+6.3%) of all new registrations, registrations of electric cars (-12.5%) and plug-in hybrids (-10.4%) fell significantly.
As a result, the share of electric cars and plug-in hybrids stagnated at 28% of all new registrations. Auto Schweiz is therefore calling for a “clear focus” on electric vehicles from politicians. More favorable public charging tariffs, easy access to charging stations and a reduction in vehicle prices by suspending the automobile tax for imported e-vehicles are needed quickly.
Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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