The average price of cars continues to fall in Switzerland, for both new and used models. That is the finding of a market analysis published on October 14 by AutoScout24, one of the country's leading car sales portals, and reported by the Keystone-SDA news agency. Among the factors put forward is growing competition from Chinese brands, which offer models at lower prices.

New cars: −2.6% over one quarter, −5.8% over one year

On the platform, average asking prices for new cars fell by 2.6% in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, and by 5.8% year on year. The steepest declines affect certain categories. New petrol cars lost 4.4% over one quarter and 4.9% over one year. The drop is even sharper for new plug-in hybrids, whose prices fell by 16% over one year.

One clarification is needed: these are prices shown in listings on the platform, not transaction prices. The analysis measures what sellers are asking on AutoScout24, not necessarily what buyers end up paying.

Used cars: a more moderate decline

The used car market is moving in the same direction, at a slower pace: −0.8% compared with the second quarter and −4.3% compared with the same period in 2025. Used electric cars are the exception in the short term: their prices rose by 1.5% compared with the April to June period. Over one year, however, the comparison remains negative, with a decline of 1.4%.

More listings online

On the supply side, the number of vehicles offered on AutoScout24 increased by 0.7% over one quarter and by 2.6% over one year. This rise is mainly due to used cars, whose listings grew by 0.9% and 2.5% respectively. For new cars, the figures stand at −0.8% over one quarter and +3.9% over one year.

Chinese brands, one factor among others

The fall in prices is part of a trend that has been under way for some time. As early as the spring, AutoScout24, owned by Swiss Marketplace Group (SMG), had already noted the growing presence in Switzerland of cheaper Chinese manufacturers. In addition to competitive prices, technological progress and the rapid pace of innovation are fuelling interest in these brands.

However, it would be wrong to treat this as the sole explanation. The report on the study presents Chinese competition as one of the factors behind the decline, without quantifying its weight or detailing the others. Nor do the published data distinguish the prices of Chinese models from those of other manufacturers. The fact that the rise of these brands coincides with the fall in prices is therefore not enough to establish that it is the main cause. The increase in the number of listings over the same period is another part of the picture, although the article draws no link between the two.

What the trend suggests

For buyers, falling advertised prices, for both new and used cars, point to a rather favourable context, even if the price actually negotiated may differ from the one in the listing. For importers and garages, a lasting fall in asking prices implies pressure on margins, but the analysis provides no data on their results or sales volumes. The differences between categories, between the sharp fall for new plug-in hybrids and the relative resilience of used electric cars over one quarter, show in any case that the movement is not uniform from one segment to another.

Sources

  • SWI swissinfo.ch: "Prices for cars drop in Switzerland thanks to Chinese brands"