Car industry Auto-Schweiz: Car tax slows demand for e-cars
The introduction of the 4 percent car tax on electric cars this year is slowing demand for electric cars. "The government has scored a veritable own goal with this," explained the industry association Auto-Schweiz.
04.07.2024, 14:30
SDA
The imposition of the car tax has partly led to higher prices for e-cars, said Christoph Wolnik, Deputy Director of the industry association Auto-Schweiz, at a media conference in Dübendorf on Thursday: "Demand has fallen accordingly."
Overall, just under 8 percent fewer plug-in cars were sold in the first half of the year than in the same period last year. The market share of fully electric cars fell to 17.6% and thus back to the level of 2022. Last year, it broke the 20% mark for the first time.
Overall market below previous year
A total of 121,000 new cars were delivered in the first six months. This is 2 percent less than a year ago. The 13 percent decline in petrol cars is striking.
The hybrid drive is the new petrol engine, said Wolnik in an interview with the news agency AWP on the sidelines of the media conference. While mild hybrids increased by almost 14 percent, plug-in hybrids stagnated.
Diesel cars were also purchased slightly more again (+3 percent). Wolnik did not have an explanation for the slight increase in diesel cars.
Worry lines in the industry
The negative trend in plug-in vehicles is a cause for concern, said Auto Schweiz Vice President Donato Bochicchio. "As part of the e-mobility road map, we are aiming for a target of 50 percent plug-in vehicles by 2025." At the end of December, the market share of plug-in cars had exceeded the 30 percent mark. By the end of June 2024, it had shrunk again to 26.4 percent.
"The current sales volumes are not causing any leaps of joy in the automotive industry," said Bochicchio. "The long-awaited catch-up effect after the pandemic has failed to materialize. The vehicle fleet in Switzerland is ageing and ageing."
Private customers have been reluctant to invest for almost a year. "Companies are also reluctant to invest because currency uncertainty, recession and inflation fears are weighing heavily on companies," said Bochicchio.
Nevertheless, he is optimistic that the Auto-Schweiz forecast of 260,000 passenger cars for 2024 as a whole will be achieved. However, this will require a strong second half of the year. "But even with these figures, we are still 15 percent below the pre-corona level."
The slowdown in the switch to new drive technologies is a cause for concern, said Bochicchio. The manufacturers' range is no longer to blame. The range of affordable e-cars is being further expanded.
Private and corporate customers still have uncertainties about e-mobility, not because of the reliability of the new technology, but because of the political framework, commercial issues and their own security of supply. "E-mobility only works if it pays off for the consumer," said Bochicchio.
Great efforts for CO2 targets
"The automotive industry will have great difficulty this year and next in maintaining the downward trend in fleet emissions if the proportion of electric vehicles cannot be further increased. This will cost all consumers dearly because it will inevitably lead to price increases for vehicles," said the Vice President.
In 2023, the industry met the fleet average target of 118 grams of C02 for the first time with 113 grams. From 2025, however, a significantly lower limit of 93.6 grams of CO2 will apply. If the political targets are not met, car importers will have to pay fines.
