New car sales accelerate

The number of new cars on the road rose to 25,528 in July, an increase of 6.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.

Figures from the Swiss Automobile Imports’ Association show that since the beginning of the year, a total of 16,256 more cars have been sold than in the previous period last year when sales plummeted as a result of the financial crisis.

The association noted that 174,033 cars were sold since January, not quite reaching the level of 178,200 in the boom year of 2008.

Its director, Andreas Burgener, said the figures were “a good sign for consumer confidence in Switzerland’s economic development”.

Volkswagen continued to be the most popular make among the Swiss with sales of almost 19,000 cars – up 7.5 per cent – followed by Ford and Renault.

The Swedish producer Saab, which was saved from bankruptcy earlier this year, saw sales decline to 284 cars, down by a third on the same period last year.

swissinfo.ch and agencies