Switzerland August 2026: Kia breaks records, Mercedes GLC #1 again, BMW iX3 at #9

The BMW iX3 is among the 10 most popular vehicles in Switzerland in August.

The Swiss new car market edges down -0.6% year-on-year in August to 16,047 units, bringing the year-to-date tally up 1.8% to 151,589. 4×4 sales soar 6.8% to 8,372 and 52.2% share vs. 48.6% a year ago and are up 6.7% YTD to 79,616 and 52.5% share vs. 50.1% over the same period in 2025. Petrol sales are down -33.7% to 2,566, diesel is off -35.9% to 754, HEVs are up 2.4% to 5,981, PHEVs are down -4.3% to 1,903 and 11.9% share vs. 12.3% last year and BEVs surge 48.7% to 4,843 and 30.2% share vs. 20.2% a year ago. Year-to-date BEV sales are up 23.2% to 37,631 and 24.8% share vs. 20.5% over the same period in 2025. 

Volkswagen (-9.4%) stays atop the brands charts despite a hefty YoY loss with 10.7% share. Mercedes (+14.6%) overtakes Skoda (+12.9%) for second place, with BMW (+21.7%) and Toyota (+20.3%), both sturdy, completing the Top 5. Audi (-28.4%) suffers at #6 but Kia (+11.7%) jumps 9 spots on last month to #7 and 3.9% share vs. 2.6% year-to-date. These are new ranking and share records for the brand, with previous best being #9 in August 2025 and 3.6% in January 2026. BYD (+623.6%) carries on its seemingly unstoppable growth and repeats at a record #10.

In the models ranking, the Mercedes GLC (+75.7%) repeats at #1, a ranking it has now held four times including three in the past four months. However the VW Golf (+112.3%), even stronger, holds onto the YTD top spot. The Tiguan (+16.4%) makes it two Volkswagens on the podium with the Toyota Yaris (+17.1%) and Yaris Cross (+80%) in tow. The next three spots are held by Skoda with the Elroq (+38.5%), Enyaq (+62.7%) and Octavia (+43.6%). The BMW iX3, now separated from the X3, lands at a splendid #9. Notice also the BYD Seal U up 423.5% and the Mercedes CLA up 222%.

Previous month: Switzerland July 2026: Mercedes GLC and Toyota Yaris Cross in the lead

One year ago: Switzerland August 2025: VW Polo in the lead

Full August 2026 Top 67 All brands and Top 383 All models below.