Delivery passes will slow down the Swiss commercial vehicle market in 2022 » Investors Plus
Berne, January 12, 2023
The conclusion for the year 2022 on the Swiss commercial vehicle market is mixed. The total number of new goods and passenger transport vehicles fell by 14.2 percent to 35,474 compared to 2021, as the figures from auto-schweiz show. However, the initial situation of the individual segments differs greatly. While the production of vans was severely affected by the shortage of parts and chips, there was only a slight decline in the market for trucks. In addition, unsurprisingly, motorhomes were unable to defend their record level from the second year of the pandemic, 2021. Similar to passenger cars, the prospects for the Swiss commercial vehicle market in 2023 are likely to be positive.
The number of new registrations Light Commercial Vehicles dropped noticeably in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein in 2022. After 29,251 registrations in the previous year, the number fell by 14.8 percent to 24,909. The main reason for the decline was bottlenecks in supplier parts such as microchips or wiring harnesses from Ukrainian production, which were temporarily paralyzed by Russia’s war of aggression. As a result, the existing demand for new delivery vans and light articulated lorries was far from being satisfied. According to auto-schweiz media spokesman Christoph Wolnik, the prospects for the new year are much more positive: “We are assuming an improved delivery situation for 2023 and a renewed increase in new registrations of light commercial vehicles. Even if the economy should cool down somewhat this year and next, as forecast, many companies still have some catching up to do. Delivery vans are expected to remain desirable vehicles in high demand.”
The segment of heavy commercial vehicles got away with a black eye in 2022. With 3,449 new trucks and tractor units, their number was 3.3 percent or 116 registrations below the previous year’s figure of 3,565 new vehicles. Here the backlog increased again in the fourth quarter. After the marketplace reached a historic record level in new registrations of passenger transport vehicles in 2021 as expected, their number decreased. In 2022, 7,116 vehicles from this segment were still on the road, a drop of 16.6 percent compared to the previous year. The main reason is the decline in new campers (6,446, -15.1%), whose registrations had reached enormous heights in 2021 with 7,588 due to the pandemic. In the meantime, the demand for mobile homes has cooled off slightly, and these have not been spared from delivery problems either.
Together with the 225,934 passenger cars, a total of 261,408 new motor vehicles were put on the road in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein in 2022. Compared to the previous year’s figure of 279,827, this represents a decrease of 18,419 new enrollments or 6.6 percent.
The detailed commercial vehicle figures by segment and brand are below www.auto.swiss to disposal.