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Switzerland August 2012: Historical: Subaru XV takes the lead!

September 15th, 2012 Leave a comment Go to comments

Incredible: the Subaru XV is the best-selling car in Switzerland this month

* See the Top 50 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

22,052 new vehicles found a buyer in Switzerland in August, bringing the year-to-date total to 224,360 registrations, up 11% on 2011. It’s a historical month for car sales in Switzerland: for the first time since I have had monthly access to a models ranking and possibly for the first time since the nameplate’s original launch in 1974, the VW Golf is not the #1 model, not even #2 but #3 with 625 sales and 2.8% share. This could be because of the imminent arrival of the 7th generation…

Subaru advert: ‘Switzerland in XV fever’ 

There are two culprits in this unheard-of move: the Skoda Octavia, ranking at its usual #2 but passing the Golf for potentially the first time ever with 661 units and 3% – still lower than its year-to-date level at 3.2%, and the outstanding performer of the month: the Subaru XV. After shooting up to a world-best 4th place last month, the XV does the unthinkable: it is up 3 spots to an unbelievable first place in Switzerland with 722 sales and 3.3% share – and this is even without counting sales of its twin Impreza (39)!

Subaru Leone

Subaru’s tagline is ‘Switzerland’s 4×4′ and the Alpine nation has been its best-performing country in Europe for decades, starting with the Subaru Leone, #7 in the eighties, then the Subaru Legacy, #11 in the nineties, and the Subaru Impreza #24 in 2007. But never had any Subaru been that successful in Switzerland. It will be fascinating to see where the XV stabilises once the ‘honeymoon’ with consumers, traditional in the first few months of sales, is over. You can see the Subaru XV’s Swiss TV commercials here.

Seat Alhambra

Other great performers in Switzerland this month include the Audi A4 up 6 spots on July to #4, the Seat Alhambra up a massive 32 ranks to #10, the BMW X1 up an even more impressive 54 spots to #12, the Audi Q3 up 10 to world-best #14, the Audi A6 up 14 to #18, the Peugeot 208 up 23 to #22, the Mercedes B-Class up 14 to #33 and the Peugeot 308 up 33 to #36.

Previous month: Switzerland July 2012: Subaru XV shoots up to world-best #4!

One year ago: Switzerland August 2011: VW Golf and Polo strong

Full August 2012 Top 50 Ranking Table below.

Switzerland August 2012:

Pos Model Aug % July 2012 % Pos 2011
1 Subaru XV 722 3.3% 4 2,359 1.1% 20  -
2 Skoda Octavia 661 3.0% 2 7,106 3.2% 2 2
3 VW Golf 625 2.8% 1 8,692 3.9% 1 1
4 Audi A4 431 2.0% 10 2,698 1.2% 11 9
5 Mercedes C Class 373 1.7% 7 3,322 1.5% 5 22
6 VW Tiguan 323 1.5% 6 3,777 1.7% 4 18
7 VW Passat 321 1.5% 22 3,315 1.5% 6 5
8 VW Polo 313 1.4% 9 3,937 1.8% 3 3
9 Audi A3 311 1.4% 8 2,633 1.2% 12 14
10 Seat Alhambra 298 1.4% 42 1,623 0.7% 40 84
11 Renault Clio 276 1.3% 14 2,608 1.2% 14 8
12 BMW X1 269 1.2% 66 1,597 0.7% 44 29
13 Opel Astra 265 1.2% 3 3,087 1.4% 7 4
14 Audi Q3 265 1.2% 24 2,005 0.9% 28 184
15 Ford Focus 262 1.2% 5 2,561 1.1% 15 15
16 Toyota Yaris 261 1.2% 13 2,799 1.2% 10 28
17 VW Touran 259 1.2% 15 3,057 1.4% 8 10
18 Audi A6 258 1.2% 32 1,846 0.8% 34 66
19 BMW 3 Series 256 1.2% 40 2,155 1.0% 25 21
20 Renault Megane 243 1.1% 11 2,423 1.1% 18 11
21 BMW 5 Series 231 1.0% 28 1,993 0.9% 29 25
22 Peugeot 208 230 1.0% 45 1,126 0.5% 68  -
23 Skoda Fabia 225 1.0% 18 2,626 1.2% 13 12
24 BMW X3 224 1.0% 21 2,348 1.0% 21 33
25 BMW 1 Series 222 1.0% 30 2,159 1.0% 24 24
26 Fiat 500 222 1.0% 36 1,780 0.8% 35 32
27 Suzuki Swift 222 1.0% 41 2,117 0.9% 26 20
28 Hyundai i20 218 1.0% 25 1,740 0.8% 37 54
29 Nissan Qashqai 208 0.9% 12 2,478 1.1% 16 26
30 Ford Kuga 208 0.9% 23 2,461 1.1% 17 13
31 Audi A1 206 0.9% 31 1,741 0.8% 36 48
32 Hyundai i30 204 0.9% 26 1,909 0.9% 33 39
33 Mercedes B Class 197 0.9% 47 1,279 0.6% 60 76
34 Honda Jazz 186 0.8% 29 1,719 0.8% 38 19
35 Mini 178 0.8% 20 2,205 1.0% 23 17
36 Peugeot 308 178 0.8% 69 1,474 0.7% 51  -
37 Audi A5 176 0.8% 39 1,616 0.7% 42 44
38 Opel Corsa 174 0.8% 16 2,408 1.1% 19 23
39 Opel Zafira 171 0.8% 19 1,937 0.9% 31 70
40 Ford Fiesta 166 0.8% 17 2,864 1.3% 9 7
41 VW Up! 164 0.7% 43 1,181 0.5% 66  -
42 Skoda Yeti 164 0.7% 67 1,456 0.6% 52 58
43 Citroen C3 161 0.7% 64 1,406 0.6% 56 45
44 Peugeot 3008 153 0.7% n/a 1,089 0.5% 71 75
45 Dacia Sandero 151 0.7% 61 1,454 0.6% 53 43
46 Suzuki SX4 151 0.7% 63 1,576 0.7% 47 36
47 VW Sharan 150 0.7% 37 1,574 0.7% 48 57
48 Renault Scenic 147 0.7% 27 1,955 0.9% 30 27
49 Seat Ibiza 146 0.7% 50 2,262 1.0% 22 16
50 VW Transporter 139 0.6% 33 1,585 0.7% 45 67

Source: auto-suisse.ch

Categories: Switzerland
  1. Alex
    September 20th, 2012 at 19:36 | #1
    Reply | Quote

    Hi Matt,

    I am a journalist at World Radio Switzerland. We are the English-speaking station for the country. I was hoping to get in touch with you to chat about this data and maybe hear your thoughts on it. Email me and let me know if you are able to chat about Subaru taking over for August. Best, Alex

  2. paul
    September 16th, 2012 at 07:11 | #2
    Reply | Quote

    no way to have 8 month of the UK Matt ? of course beyond the top 10 !

    • matgasnier
      September 16th, 2012 at 10:30 | #3
      Reply | Quote

      Hi Paul,
      I don’t have this information at this stage – but will try and get it for 9 months :)
      cheers
      Matt

  3. Max
    September 15th, 2012 at 22:36 | #4
    Reply | Quote

    Absolutely fantastic ! Subaru Europe can really says thank you to Switzerland….

  4. Ant
    September 15th, 2012 at 18:17 | #5
    Reply | Quote

    Citroen. 13.280
    Peugeot. 12.824
    Mini. 9.147
    Volvo. 8.950

    Source: quattroruote magazine april 1973

  5. Ant
    September 15th, 2012 at 18:13 | #6
    Reply | Quote

    Top 10 brands in switzerland in 1972
    Opel. 32.650
    Fiat. 26.500
    Volkswagen. 23.356
    Toyota. 22.680
    Ford. 22.024
    Renault. 17.000
    Citroen

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