Summary

The Federal Office of Energy (BFE) published its annual report on the Swiss vehicle market 2025 on June 23, 2026. While new passenger car registrations declined by 1.1%, CO₂ emissions from both vehicle categories increased significantly – passenger cars by 10.8%, light commercial vehicles by 9%. The share of plug-in vehicles (battery electric and plug-in hybrid) among passenger cars rose to 34.4%. Despite these reductions, both vehicle categories significantly missed their CO₂ targets, resulting in penalties totaling 123.6 million francs.

Persons

Topics

  • CO₂ emissions and climate policy
  • Electromobility and drive technologies
  • Swiss vehicle market
  • Energy efficiency
  • Regulatory enforcement measures

Clarus Lead

The failure to meet CO₂ targets marks a turning point in Swiss climate policy: despite accelerated electric vehicle growth (market share +6.6 percentage points), the transition is insufficient to meet tightened requirements. Significantly higher penalties (97.7 million francs for passenger cars compared to 2.26 million in the previous year) signal that importers are under pressure – a development that could accelerate investments in electromobility but also brings price increases for consumers.

Detailed Summary

New passenger car registrations reached approximately 245,500 vehicles in 2025, a slight decline compared to 2024. In parallel, the market share of plug-in vehicles (battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids) increased by 6.6 percentage points to 34.4% – the highest value since the introduction of tightened CO₂ targets in 2020. Battery electric vehicles (BEV) achieved a market share of 23% (+3.9 percentage points), plug-in hybrids (PHEV) of 11.4% (+2.7 percentage points).

Despite this electrification, average CO₂ emissions from passenger cars fell to 101.6 g CO₂/km (2024: 113.9 g/km), but significantly missed the target of 93.6 g CO₂/km. Average energy consumption fell to 5.1 liters of gasoline equivalent per 100 kilometers. For light commercial vehicles and light semi-trailers (LCV), 29,500 new vehicles were registered (+6.7%), with a plug-in vehicle share of 20% (2024: 10.5%). Average CO₂ emissions fell from 192.4 to 174.9 g CO₂/km, but exceed the target of 153.9 g CO₂/km.

The failure to meet targets resulted in penalties of 97.7 million francs for passenger cars and 25.9 million francs for LCV. These penalties are imposed against 56 major importers and approximately 600 small importers of passenger cars as well as importers of LCV. The massive increase in penalties for passenger cars (from 2.26 to 97.7 million francs) is directly attributable to the tightened CO₂ targets in 2020.

Key Findings

  • Electric vehicles reach a record market share of 34.4% for passenger cars in Switzerland, but also grow for light commercial vehicles (+9.5 percentage points)
  • CO₂ emissions decline significantly (PC: −10.8%, LCV: −9%), but are insufficient to meet tightened targets
  • Penalties for vehicle importers explode to 123.6 million francs – economic pressure that could force further electrification

Critical Questions

  1. Evidence: How does the BFE define CO₂ emission measurement for plug-in hybrids? Are realistic driving conditions or laboratory values used, and could optimized test procedures distort the results?

  2. Conflicts of Interest: Do vehicle importers benefit from penalty revenues through state subsidy programs for electromobility, or does a conflict of interest exist between the enforcement authority and industry?

  3. Causality: Can the emission reduction be attributed primarily to electrification, or do improvements in combustion engines and lighter vehicle construction play an underestimated role?

  4. Feasibility: Are the CO₂ targets for 2026 and beyond technically and economically achievable without vehicle prices rising significantly for consumers or importers leaving the market?

  5. Data Quality: How complete is the coverage of small importers (600 PC, ~100 LCV), and could gaps distort overall emission balances?

  6. Side Effects: Do high penalties lead to market concentration (major importers can bear costs, small importers cannot), and does this exacerbate competition problems?

Sources

Primary Source: Federal Office of Energy (BFE) – Annual Report Swiss Vehicle Market 2025 – https://www.news.admin.ch/de/newnsb/Fr7Zcz8GPtKzQ6snXZAXU

Supplementary Resources:

  • CO₂ emission regulations for passenger cars: www.bfe.admin.ch/auto-co2
  • Key figures new car fleet (annual figures): www.bfe.admin.ch/bfe/de/home/versorgung/statistik-und-geodaten/kennzahlen-fahrzeuge/kennzahlen-neuwagenflotte.html
  • Open Data enforcement results: opendata.swiss

Verification Status: ✓ 23.06.2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-check: 23.06.2026