The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

More cars with alternative driving systems on Swiss roads

More and more cars with alternative drive systems on the market
More and more cars with alternative drive systems on the market Keystone-SDA

In Switzerland, the number of vehicles with alternative driving systems increased in the first half of 2025. At the same time, the trend towards large SUVs is continuing despite the climate crisis.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

This is shown by an analysis by the online portal AutoScout24.

The number of adverts for vehicles with alternative drive systems on the AutoScout24 platform rose again in the first half of the year, according to a press release issued by the Swiss Marketplace Group on Friday. This development was already apparent at the beginning of the year, partly due to stricter CO2 targets in the retail sector.

Plug-in hybrids saw the strongest increase in new car sales (+15.5%), followed by mild hybrids (+12.6%) and fully electric vehicles (+8.6%). In the case of mild hybrids, the electric motor assists the vehicle when starting and accelerating.

+ Electric car sales accelerate worldwide but stall in Switzerland

AutoScout24 has identified similar developments in the used car market, where mild hybrids (+19.2%) and plug-in hybrids (+14.5%) recorded strong growth. “We have noticed that the acceptance of hybrid drive technologies is growing continuously in Switzerland,” said AutoScout24 CEO Alberto Sanz de Lama in the press release.

SUVs remain in demand

However, demand for large SUVs in particular remains high. More than 40,000 new and 150,000 used SUVs were advertised on the AutoScout platform in the first half of the year, according to the press release. This corresponds to an increase of 3.4% for new vehicles and 5.4% for used vehicles compared to the same period last year.

The SUV tax, which has been heavily discussed at times, and the debate surrounding sustainability do not appear to have dampened the appeal of this vehicle class, the experts write. In addition, minivans also recorded significant growth of 6.7% for new vehicles and 7.3% for used vehicles.

According to AutoScout24, the Škoda Fabia, the VW Golf and the VW Polo continued to lead the ranking of the most advertised new cars. The VW Golf, the Škoda Octavia and the VW Tiguan continued to dominate the used car market.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.  

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at english@swissinfo.ch

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Gurten Festival attracts 98,000 people to Bern's local mountain

More

Gurten Festival wraps up with 98,000 music lovers

This content was published on Over the four days, around 98,000 people – including volunteers – made their way up Bern’s local mountain for the 42nd edition of the festival.

Read more: Gurten Festival wraps up with 98,000 music lovers
Army seeks "contemporary" solution for bunker facilities

More

Swiss army looks to repurpose old bunkers

This content was published on The army is looking for a modern solution for its decommissioned fortress mortar bunkers, with plans to turn them into hardened defence hubs.

Read more: Swiss army looks to repurpose old bunkers
Women's Euro: Berne celebrates a football festival without a happy ending

More

Switzerland knocked out of Women’s Euro 2025

This content was published on Spain ended Switzerland’s run in the Women’s Euros on Friday, but fans in Bern made history with the largest supporters’ march in Women’s Euros history.

Read more: Switzerland knocked out of Women’s Euro 2025
Solar aeroplane flies around the Matterhorn

More

Solar plane flies around Matterhorn

This content was published on Solar energy pioneer Raphaël Domjan and his team continued preparations for the altitude record attempt at 10,000 metres with the SolarStratos solar aircraft.

Read more: Solar plane flies around Matterhorn
Compulsory vaccination against cattle disease in Geneva and parts of Vaud

More

Vaccinations imposed for some Swiss cattle

This content was published on Cattle in the canton of Geneva and in the neighbouring region of Terre Sainte in the canton of Vaud are being vaccinated against the contagious viral skin nodule disease. The first cases of the animal disease were reported at the end of June in France, just outside Geneva.

Read more: Vaccinations imposed for some Swiss cattle

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR