Electric car registrations in Switzerland surge 59% in October

Electric-car registrations jumped 59% in October, as Switzerland’s new-vehicle market grew overall and continued shifting away from petrol and diesel. The Federal Statistical Office reported 26,219 new motor vehicles registered during the month, a 4% increase compared with October a year earlier. Passenger cars accounted for 19,026 of the total, also up 4%.

The figures were published on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. They show a sharp difference between electric cars and combustion-engine registrations: petrol fell 13% and diesel dropped 25%, while plug-in hybrids were almost unchanged, down 1%. The October increase also fits into a longer run of rising electric-car registrations. From January to October, the number of new electric cars was 31% higher than in the same period of 2025. The latest monthly figures place the change in the market firmly in view: electric registrations climbed even as several established powertrain categories declined.

The rise in electric cars came alongside falling registrations for petrol and diesel models. Petrol-car registrations declined 13% year on year in October, while diesel registrations fell 25%. The report groups standard hybrids with its petrol and diesel categories, and records plug-in hybrids separately. Plug-in hybrid registrations were nearly flat, slipping 1%.

Those diverging movements stand out against the month’s overall growth. Switzerland registered 4% more passenger cars than a year earlier, but the increase was concentrated in a different mix of powertrains. The figures track new registrations, rather than the total number of cars already on Swiss roads. They therefore capture changes in the flow of new vehicles entering the market. October’s data show the contrast in that flow: electric-car registrations rose by more than half, while petrol and diesel registrations contracted. The rise was not limited to a single month, with electric registrations also higher across the first ten months of the year.

Electric-car registrations rose 31% from January to October, extending the shift beyond October’s monthly surge. Over those ten months, Switzerland registered 192,052 passenger cars, an increase of 3% compared with the same period a year earlier. The year-to-date pattern across powertrains was mixed: petrol registrations fell 5%, diesel registrations dropped 16%, and plug-in hybrids increased 13%.

The longer period puts October’s 59% electric-car increase in context. Its monthly growth was markedly stronger than the 31% rise recorded across January to October, while the broader passenger-car market grew at a more measured pace. These figures count registrations over the stated periods, so the monthly and year-to-date percentages describe separate comparisons. Together they show that the change in new-car registrations was sustained over the first ten months of 2026, with electric cars gaining ground while petrol and diesel registrations declined. Plug-in hybrids also recorded year-to-date growth, despite their slight October dip.

The wider vehicle market also expanded in October, with motorcycles posting the strongest increase among the other categories reported. The 3,591 motorcycles registered represented a 20% rise compared with October last year. Lorries and vans moved in the opposite direction: 2,775 were registered, down 6%. Registrations of motorhomes fell 9%.

Across all vehicle types, October’s 26,219 registrations marked a 4% year-on-year increase. The overall total and the passenger-car count both grew by that rate, while the changes within passenger cars varied sharply by powertrain. From January to October, Switzerland registered 281,837 road vehicles, also 4% more than in the same period a year earlier. Motorcycle registrations reached 52,289 over those ten months, up 10%. The October figures place the electric-car surge within a broader market in which passenger cars and motorcycles increased, while registrations of commercial vehicles and motorhomes weakened.