Chinese car brands gain ground on the Swiss market

In the first seven months of 2026, 135,500 new cars were registered in Switzerland, 2.1% more than in the same period of 2025. The figures come from Auto-Suisse, the importers' association. Within this generally moderate market growth, the strongest trend is the rise of Chinese brands, in particular BYD.

Over the seven months, BYD sold 3,300 vehicles, up from around 300 in the same period of 2025, a growth of 1,197%. In the electric car segment, the Chinese brand has overtaken Tesla. In July alone, BYD registered 600 vehicles, against 100 for Tesla, which lost 78% of its sales for that month compared with a year earlier. Over the full seven months, Tesla still grew slightly, by 2%, though July was a difficult month for the American brand.

BYD's overtaking of Tesla fits into a broader trend. According to figures from the Federal Roads Office, Chinese brands reached a 3.7% share of new registrations in Switzerland in the first quarter of 2026, up from 3.4% in 2025 and 2.4% in 2024. Three manufacturers, BYD, MG and Leapmotor, accounted for more than half of Chinese sales in the quarter on their own; BYD alone made up nearly a third of those registrations.

Why Chinese prices are winning over buyers

Stephan Jäggi, director of the Swiss association of independent car dealers VFAS, explains that for the same equipment and quality, Chinese models cost 15 to 25% less than their European equivalents. Added to this is technological competitiveness in the electric sector and the absence of extra tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars. In China itself, a price war is eroding manufacturers' margins, pushing them to focus more on exports.

Jäggi estimates that the share of Chinese brands in Switzerland could rise to 7-10% by 2028, with even higher figures in the electric segment alone. At the European level, forecasts suggest that five or six Chinese manufacturers could together reach a share of between 8% and 12% by 2030.

Looking at the Swiss market as a whole, the share of alternative propulsion continues to grow: in the first seven months of 2026, 32,900 electric cars were registered, 20% more than the previous year, while petrol and diesel cars are declining. Thomas Rücker, director of Auto-Suisse, notes: «l'elettrificazione del parco veicoli è proseguita nel mese di luglio e sta avanzando gradualmente» (electrification of the vehicle fleet continued in July and is advancing gradually), while also pointing to the economic challenges facing the sector, which he describes as «immense».