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50 years ago the world of cars was still clearly structured. A Mercedes came from Stuttgart, Germany, BMWs rolled off the assembly line in Munich, Germany, and every Alfa Romeo was born in Italy. Logically, French brands made in France and Toyotas that were still exotic at the time were shipped to us from Japan.
In addition to Swiss niche brands such as Monteverdi (until 1984), very few models were produced in this country for the Swiss market. Until 1972, Amag assembled Plymouth, Chrysler, Studebaker, Dodge and VW Karmann-Ghia cars in Schinznach-Bad, Aargau. And in Biel BE, Opel models were built from parts delivered until 1975 to avoid higher duty for finished cars. But with such exceptions, one thing was certain: German cars came from Germany, and the French from France.
The once great car nations are losing
But fifty years later, globalization has become confusing on the car map. Initially, low wage levels in countries like Spain and Portugal, and in the developing countries of Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Eastern bloc in 1990, prompted even the most tradition-conscious automakers to relocate their production. With the economic upswing in these countries, the demand for cars also increased there – only those who produced locally could make their cars competitively cheap. First of all, China’s rise to economic power in the 1990s and 2000s completely turned the automobile world upside down. The world’s second most populous country has long been the world’s largest and most important car market – far beyond the US and Europe.
Meanwhile, each automaker has its own global network of plants, suppliers and importers in order to be able to manufacture as flexible as possible and as cost-effectively as possible depending on the economic situation. This has upset the ranking of automobile producing countries in the last 20 years. While France was still fourth in the world in 2002, it was no longer enough to enter the top ten as it was for Italy in 2022. With 6.57 million vehicles per year, Japan was relegated to second place by China (23.8 million) during this period, while Germany (3.48 million) is now narrowly fourth behind South Korea (3.46 million).
Delivery even from China
So where are the new Swiss cars coming from right now? Guido Biffiger has been following the Swiss new car market for decades as an automobile consultant with his company GFB Consulting and has delved into the current registration figures in Switzerland for SonntagsBlick. It lists the ten best-selling products in Switzerland between January and April of this year, for the top 15 manufacturing countries. The so-called 17-digit vehicle identification number helped him with this: the series, engine type, factory and model year are coded here, providing a clear assignment of each car.
As of the end of April, a total of 77,580 passenger cars from 27 countries were registered in Switzerland this year. Surprisingly, the vast majority of Skodas still come from their home country of the Czech Republic, Dacias continue to roll off the assembly line in Romania, and Japanese manufacturers are mostly still mostly in Japan, aside from Nissan, for example, with the Sunderland plant (UK). or loyal. But things go back and forth, especially in big companies like Stellantis and VW. For example, new Audis come to us from Germany, Spain, Hungary and Mexico. BMW’s larger SUVs, from the X3 to the X7, are also produced for the Swiss market at its US plant in Spartanburg. Besides Japan, Toyota also manufactures for Switzerland in the Czech Republic, France, England and Belgium. And China is also gaining importance: Tesla, Volvo and Polestar as subsidiaries of the Chinese Geely Group, as well as the Stellantis brand DS, are buying new cars from there for Switzerland. Tesla too? But as the factory in Grünheide, Germany currently only delivers more powerful all-wheel drive versions of the Model Y to Switzerland.
Production relocations planned
If you look closely, you will also notice surprising details: the Swiss mini electric car Microlino was produced in Italy. Ten Dacia Dusters labeled Renault have been delivered to the International Red Cross in Geneva. And finally, only one car actually comes from Switzerland: an all-electric Stimbo HV-P has been manufactured and certified for zero-emissions traffic in the carless community at Zermatt VS.
The coronavirus pandemic has shown how vulnerable such global production networks are, with long supply chains that still need to function reliably: The automotive industry has so far been plagued by the consequences of a lack of chips, delays in delivery due to ports. deadlock or lack of containers. Despite the rise, they still stand out in the Swiss auto market. For this reason, many companies have been considering moving their factories closer to their suppliers for a long time. The production of new batteries and chips for e-car production will also be on the agenda in Europe in the coming years.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
