One in ten new trucks with alternative drive systems
The Swiss market for new commercial vehicles is still in the fast lane. Between January and April, new registrations of goods and passenger transport vehicles in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein rose by 12.4 percent to 14,774.
Heavy commercial vehicles reached 1,607 new registrations in the first four months of the year, 202 or 14.4% more than at the same time a year ago. As the analyses by auto-schweiz show, the proportion of alternative drive systems is growing noticeably. For example, 20 of these new trucks have a gas engine and as many as 133 are fully electric, accounting for a share of 8.3%. In comparison: in 2023 as a whole, e-trucks had a market share of 8.8% (383 out of 4,369), and this figure should be exceeded by the end of 2024.
Christoph Wolnik, Deputy Director of auto-schweiz, assesses the development: "Electrically powered trucks are a growing phenomenon on our roads. There is increasing demand from transport companies for commercial vehicle importers, and more and more customers are demanding emission-free logistics. In order for this encouraging growth to continue, the available fast-charging network for e-trucks urgently needs to be expanded. This was shown not least by the EBP study presented by auto-schweiz as part of a project group in November 2023. This revealed a medium-term need for 15 fast-charging hubs along the main transport routes." auto-schweiz is in talks with numerous partners in order to be able to set up a pilot project as quickly as possible, says Christoph Wolnik.
There was also increased demand for light commercial vehicles (vans and light articulated lorries) in the first four months of 2024. After 9,248 registrations in the first quarter of 2023, the number rose by 15 percent to 10,634. At 658 units, electrically powered vans accounted for 6.2 percent of all new registrations, with their number falling slightly year-on-year (2023: 981).
The number of new passenger transportation vehicles at the end of April was 2,533, an increase of 51% or 2.1% compared to the previous year. Motorhomes alone account for 2,227 of these new registrations, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.1% and thus remaining in high demand long after the Covid pandemic.
Together with the 77,264 new passenger cars, a total of 92,038 new motor vehicles were registered in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein between January and April 2024. Compared to the previous year's figure of 90,104, this represents an increase of 1,934 new registrations or 2.1 percent.
Source: www.auto.swiss
