Switzerland September 2018: Mercedes #1 marque, sales down 16.8%

Mercedes is the best-selling brand in Switzerland for the 2nd time this year.

* See the Top 50 All-brands and Top 330 All-models by clicking on the title *

Even though the market should technically not be affected by EU emissions laws (as Switzerland is not part of the European Union), the Swiss new car market is in unison with the rest of the continent this month with a steep 16.8% drop to 20.409 registrations, pulling the year-to-date total down 2.7% to 225.286 units. This decline is mainly due to the VW Group’s lack of inventory, awaiting the new WLTP-compliant lineup to kick in as its operations are geared towards the EU and not Switzerland in particular. 4×4 sales follow the market at -15.1%, yet spectacularly cross the 50% share milestone at 50.6% vs. 49.6% in September. YTD 4×4 deliveries gain 2.4% to 110.128 or 48.9% share vs. 46.4% over the same period a year ago. Diesel sales on the other hand crumble at -29.1% in September to 5.888 and 28.9% share vs. 33.9% a year ago, down 20.1% YTD to 67.974 and 30.2% share vs. 36.7% in 2017.

For the second time this year (and ever?) after last February, Mercedes (-11%) topples Volkswagen (-33%) to become the most popular brand in Switzerland, albeit for just 14 sales. BMW (-15%) and Audi (-17%) follow like in August while Ford surprises with a stunning 22% gain – the only double-digit year-on-year improvement in the Top 13 – to overcome Skoda (-34%) for 5th place. Fiat (-12%) and Toyota (-15%) lose less ground than the market in the remainder of the Top 10 where Opel (-32%) suffers. Further down, note Jaguar (+185%), Infiniti (+63%), Kia (+42%), Jeep (+36%), Mitsubishi (+25%), Aston Martin (+18%), Ssangyong (+18%) and Volvo (+11%) all going against the market drop.

Model-wise, the Skoda Octavia (-29%) reclaims the top spot it holds YTD despite a heavy loss, while the VW Tiguan (-11%) limits its fall in 2nd place and overtakes the VW Golf (-58%) in the year-to-date order in the process to claim #2. The Mercedes GLC (-3%) remains at an outstanding 3rd place ahead of the Fiat 500 (-16%) and VW Golf. The VW T-Roc posts another strong month at #6, earning a spot inside the YTD Top 10 at #9. Excellent ranking for the Opel Mokka (-13%) at #7 vs. #25 YTD even though it drops in the double-digits. The Mercedes A-Class leaps up 17 spots on August to #8, the BMW 2 Series is up 10 to #8 and the Audi Q2 up 5 to #18 vs. #44 YTD. The Volvo XC40 jumps 43 ranks to #40.

Previous month: Switzerland August 2018: VW Tiguan repeats at #1 in market down 7.2%

One year ago: Switzerland September 2017: Skoda Kodiaq in Top 10

Full September 2018 Top 50 All-brands and Top 330 All-models below.