In January, vehicle registrations in Switzerland fell by 5.93% with respect to January of 2003. In total, 20,311 cars were registered and 292,837 new cars were sold in the last twelve months, 8.25% less than the year before.
The breakdown of car sales figures for the month of January is:
- Commercial vehicles sold: 1,877, 1.98% less than in January of 2003.
- Passenger cars regitrations: 18,434, which represents a figure of 6.32% less than in January of 2003.
Switzerland is the 14th-placed country in ranking of 31 countries based on number of vehicle registrations.
A very useful variable for estimating the level of economic wealth enjoyed by Swiss residents, when compared to the other countries in the ranking, is the number of vehicles sold or registered per thousand residents in the last year. With annual sales of 39.77 cars per 1,000 residents, 2.76 of them in the last month, Switzerland, occupies 12th place in the ranking.
As can be seen, the number of registrations per thousand residents has fallen in the last year. A drop in registrations generally indicates a fall in consumer confidence and, when it is sustained, a recession in the real economy.
Here we show you the progression of vehicle registrations in Switzerland. You can see car registrations in other countries in en vehicle registrations and see all the economic information about Switzerland in en Swiss economy.