Nine months later, 26,549 new pickup trucks have been sold in Switzerland this year. That’s 16.9 percent less than a year ago. This decline is felt in all segments, from light and heavy commercial vehicles to mobile homes. Although campers have achieved strong sales figures in commercial vehicles in the last two years, the negative trend continues as of the first quarter of 2022.
Importers association Auto-Switzerland sees several reasons for the drop in sales. Various components were missing due to the Ukrainian war, especially in the first half of the year. These supply problems in suppliers led to a supply bottleneck and pushed prices up with increasing inflation.
New purchases delayed
The federal government also lowered its economic forecast several times. It expects gross domestic product to grow by two percent for the current year and is expected to grow by 1.1 percent next year. Due to this negative outlook, many companies are postponing their investments, including the purchase of new vehicles, until better times.
Auto-Swiss spokesperson Christoph Wolnik says light commercial vehicle providers in particular will feel this. “Especially SMEs are currently often giving up on new purchases due to rising commodity, electricity and fuel prices. Vehicle replacements are only provided in the event of a high level of urgency.” At the end of the three quarters, 18,186 light commercial vehicles were sold. This is 18.4 percent less than last year (22,295 new registrations) and even 27.8 percent (25,178) less than before the Covid pandemic in 2019. Explaining what the sales figures mean, Wolnik explains, “The economic collapse can be seen most quickly and clearly on delivery trucks and light articulated trucks.”
From camper boom to camper blues
A similar picture emerges for heavy commercial vehicles. Nine months later, 2,529 new trucks and articulated dump trucks were registered in Switzerland. That’s 8.9 percent less than last year after three quarters.
The passenger transport vehicles market shrank by 15.3 percent compared to the record year 2021. 5834 buses and caravans can still be sold. After posting record sales last year, motorhomes are now driving the decline in sales. 13.8 percent fewer campers were registered – because demand is slowing and also because delivery times for vehicles already ordered are significantly longer.