The history of the Swiss Tesla Model 3 is a preview of the future
Norway has been for a long time ultimate trendsetters when it came to the future of electric vehicle adoption. Now there is another country worth admiring. Known for exquisite chocolates, fine watches, mysterious banks and Roger Federer, Switzerland is now making some waves on the EV scene.
Above: A Tesla Model 3 in Zurich (Source: crash71100)
It turns out that an electric car sold more units last year than any other car (petrol, diesel, hybrid, etc.) in Switzerland. The Tesla Model 3 not only dominated all EV sales in Switzerland, but also Everyone types of cars.
The chart below, released by the Swiss IVT Astra, shows that Tesla’s Model 3 outperformed sales of any car in the country in 2021.
Graphic: In 2021, Tesla’s all-electric Model 3 sedan was the best-selling car in Switzerland (Credit: u/habasch91 / reddit)
To this end, Tesla sold 5,072 units of the Model 3 sedan in Switzerland in 2021. The Model 3’s closest competitor in the country was the internal combustion engine car Škoda Octavia, with 4,969 units sold.
The next electric vehicle to come closest to selling the Model 3 was the Volkswagen ID.3, which landed at number 19 on the 2021 Swiss car sales chart. Last year, VW sold 2,423 units of the ID.3 in Switzerland.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the adoption of electric vehicles in the country is growing exponentially. Comparing November 2021 to November 2020, new electric vehicle registrations increased by an impressive 63%.
Interestingly, sales of gasoline and diesel vehicles fell by 27% and 59%, respectively. Hybrid vehicles remained reasonably stable. But electric vehicles took a big leap in Switzerland last year – and the lion’s share of the credit goes to Tesla.
Keep in mind, Tesla’s Model Y was only shipped by train in Switzerland in November 2021, so didn’t even make the top chart above. Its presence should theoretically have a significant impact in 2022.
Note that Tesla made this historic achievement in Switzerland, although its European Gigafactory hasn’t started production yet. Once Giga Berlin works this year, the Model Y sales curve will (probably) reach the top position very quickly.
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Written by: Iqtidar Ali. A previous version of this article was originally published by Tesla Oracle. Revised update edited by EVANNEX.