Switzerland October 2016: Skoda Octavia headed towards 23 year first

The Skoda Octavia could be the first model to beat the VW Golf annually in 23 years. 

* See the Top 50 All-brands and Top 333 All-models by clicking on the title *

The Swiss new car market slides down 7% year-on-year in October to 23.396 registrations, pulling the year-to-date tally down 3.5% to 255.579 units. Volkswagen falls faster than the market at -8% yet remains imposing at 13.4% market share vs. 7.6% for Mercedes (+3%), 7.2% for BMW (+5%) and 7.1% for Skoda (+1%). Audi (-7%), Fiat (-8%), Opel (-14%), Ford (-22%) and Renault (-29%) struggle in the Top 10 but Seat gains 17% to 7th overall. Notice also Kia (+15%), Mini (+21%), Honda (+36%), Maserati (+38%), Ssangyong (+44%), Alfa Romeo (+57%) and Jaguar (+78%) all posting spectacular double-digit gains. Model-wise, the Skoda Octavia (+0.2%) takes a significant option towards a historical annual win with 950 sales vs. just 751 (-39%) for the VW Golf, Year-to-date, the Octavia leads with 9.620 sales vs. 9.211 for the Golf. Indeed the Golf has held the title of best-selling car in Switzerland for the past 22 consecutive years, ever since 1993 when the Opel Astra topped the charts.

The Volvo XC60 breaks into the Swiss Top 10 in October. 

The new generation VW Tiguan continues to conquer Swiss hearts with sales up 172% to #3 and 749 sales, just two units below the Golf. The Volkswagen Group manages to monopolise the Top 5 positions with the VW Polo at #4 (-19%) and the Audi A3 at #5 (-3%). The Mercedes C-Class (+32%), Skoda Fabia (+20%), Volvo XC60 (+136%), VW Touran (+87%), BMW X1 (+192%), Mini Cooper (+49%), Audi A4 (+30%) and Mercedes GLC (+47%) also shine inside the Top 20. The Seat Ateca leads recent launches (<12 months) at #30, followed at a distance by the Jaguar F-Pace (#87), Fiat Tipo (#97), Renault Talisman (#99), Alfa Romeo Giulia (#120), Maserati Levante (#131), Kia Niro (#138) and Tesla Model X (#141).

Previous month: Switzerland September 2016: Skoda Octavia reclaims YTD pole position

One year ago: Switzerland October 2015: Hyundai Tucson leaps up to 6th place

Full October 2016 Top 50 All-brands and Top XXX All-models below.