Best-Selling New Cars in Switzerland in 2009

List of the Top 20 Most-Sold Auto Makes & Models on the Swiss Market

Jan 28, 2010
Henk Bekker

VW Golf – Switzerland’s Favorite Car in 2009 - © Volkswagen Media Services

Volkswagen, Audi and Renault were the best-selling car brands in Switzerland in 2009. The VW Golf and Skoda Octavia are the most popular auto models on the Swiss market.

Volkswagen was again the top-selling car manufacturer in Switzerland in 2009. VW was also the best-selling car brand in 2008 while the VW Golf is clearly the most popular car model on the Swiss market. Skoda was the only new entrant on the list of the top ten best-selling cars in Switzerland in 2009 while Fiat slipped out of the list of best sellers.

The Swiss automobile market shrunk in 2009 by 7.8% to 266,018 new passenger vehicle registrations. The Swiss car market remained relatively robust even though Switzerland, in contrast to its neighbors, offered no government incentives to replace older cars with new models.

List of the Top 20 Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in Switzerland in 2009

According to statistics released by Auto Schweiz, the list of the top twenty most-sold car makers in Switzerland in 2009 is:

Car Manufacturer … Cars Sold … % Market Share … % Change from 2008

Volkswagen … 29,487 … 11.1 … -8.4
Audi … 16,793 … 6.3 … -1.0
Renault … 15,052 … 5.7 … 3.2
Ford … 14,535 … 5.5 … -1.6
BMW … 14,288 … 5.4 … -11.4
Opel … 14,091 … 5.3 … -24.5
Toyota … 13,955 … 5.2 … -8.3
Peugeot … 11,806 … 4.4 … -13.9
Mercedes … 11,706 … 4.4 … -15.9
Skoda … 11,611 … 4.4 … 4.3
Citroën … 11,458 … 4.3 … 15.9
Fiat … 11,424 … 4.3 … -19.1
Subaru … 8,408 … 3.2 … -2.6
Honda … 8,289 … 3.1 … 3.4
Mazda … 8,207 … 3.1 … -8.7
Volvo … 7,128 … 2.7 … -2.1
Suzuki … 6,777 … 2.5 … 4.3
Seat … 6,378 … 2.4 … -3.8
Nissan … 5,921 … 2.2 … -9.3
Hyundai … 5,761 … 2.2 … -0.6

Top-Selling Car Manufacturers in Switzerland in 2009

The only new entrant on the top-ten list of best-selling cars in Switzerland in 2009 is Skoda while Fiat dropped down to twelfth place overall. Volkswagen easily remained the best-selling car manufacturer in Switzerland by selling almost double the number of cars sold by second placed Audi. Opel was the worst performer of the top ten best-selling car manufacturers in Switzerland in 2009 – Opel’s sales slipped almost 25% to move from second place in 2008 to sixth on the Swiss new car market in 2009.

Of the top ten best-selling car manufacturers in Switzerland only Renault and Skoda managed to increase the number of cars sold in 2009. Eleventh-placed Citroen (+15.9%) was the most-improved car brand on the Swiss market in 2009 while Opel (-24.5%), Fiat (-19.1%), and Mercedes (-15.9%) were the worst performing major car brands in Switzerland in 2009.

List of the Top 20 Best-Selling Car Models in Switzerland in 2009

According Auto Schweiz, the list of the top twenty most popular car models in Switzerland in 2009 is:

Car Make & Model … Number of Cars Sold in Switzerland in 2009

VW Golf … 9,726
Skoda Octavia … 7,704
Audi A4 … 5,589
BMW 3 Series … 5,426
Audi A3 … 4,396
VW Passat … 4,232
Fiat 500 … 4,136
Ford Fiesta … 3,945
Peugeot 207 … 3,893
VW Polo … 3,775
VW Tiguan … 3,648
Mini Mini … 3,647
Honda Jazz … 3,581
VW Touran … 3,440
Renault Clio … 3,420
Ford Focus … 3,403
Renault Mégane … 3,256
BMW 1 Series … 3,206
Opel Corsa … 3,142
Seat Ibiza … 3,031

The Volkswagen Golf clearly remained the most popular car in Switzerland beating the Skoda Octavia into second place for the second consecutive year. The Volkswagen Group dominated the list of best-selling cars in Switzerland in 2009 with six models in the top ten and nine in the top-twenty lists.

The Volkswagen Golf is traditionally also the best-selling car in Germany and was Europe’s favorite car model in 2009. Volkswagen is also the largest car manufacturer and strongest car brand in Europe.