Swiss Fleets Show Interest in EVs Despite Market Downturn

True fleet registrations for Switzerland in October are down 18.2%, however this has not stopped fleet’s continued interest in investing in electric vehicles, Dataforce said.

The trend toward electrification of company fleets has continued unabatedly, according to Dataforce. Registrations of such vehicles have more than doubled compared to the same month last year (up 131.6%). The most popular models in October were the Renault Zoe, the Volkswagen ID.3, and the Hyundai Kona.

Despite an overall weak market environment, Renault, Dacia, and Nissan were able to increase their fleet registrations, year-over-year. At model level, the Skoda Octavia (down 44.5%) once again recorded the highest number of fleet registrations, followed by the Renault Megane and the BMW 3 Series.

Meanwhile, the Swiss passenger car market suffered another strong setback at the beginning of the fourth quarter. This October, just under 20,800 passenger cars were registered, causing the market to slump by a further 20.2% compared to the previous year.

Light Commercial Market Overview

The Swiss market for light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tons also fell significantly in October (down 11.4%), with company registrations for the segment in the true fleet market down by 14.6%.In this vehicle segment, Volkswagen not only succeeded in delivering most vehicles to corporate fleets, but also in increasing registrations by 25.9% compared to the same month last year, according to Dataforce.

The most registered light commercial fleet models in October were the Volkswagen Caddy (up 41.3%), the Volkswagen Transporter (up 13.9%), and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (down 0.6%).