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Between January and September, the sale of commercial vehicles, that is, trucks and delivery vans, in Switzerland fell by 15.9 percent compared to the same period last year. According to the Auto-Schweiz Auto-Importerverband, the number of new rebates was reduced by 5,351 units to 28,221 vehicles. After all: the downward trend, caused mainly by the corona pandemic, has slowed down. At the end of June, the difference compared to 2019 was still 21.5 percent.
Commercial vehicle sales figures are an indication of future economic development. If business is going well in the company, new company cars are ordered. If the outlook is gloomy or there is a foreseeable lack of orders, they will be reluctant to sell vehicles.
Campers dampen the decline a bit
Even if the expected corona-related economic slowdown of 6.2 percent has now been corrected to 3.8 percent: SMEs and craft businesses in particular appear to be less optimistic about the future: for light commercial vehicles under 3.5 tons, pickup trucks delivery rates for the Cities and vehicles for artisan companies: the disadvantage in the first three quarters was up to 20.3 percent. Compared to 2019, 5,103 fewer vehicles were sold. Heavy trucks and semi-trailers registered a decrease of exactly 20.0 percent.
But one segment makes importers happy: They were able to record a 12.9 percent increase for campers. Although they are driven almost exclusively by private owners, they are also classified as light commercial vehicles in the statistics. In the first nine months of 2020, 4,902 campers were put into circulation, an increase of 561 vehicles compared to the same period last year. This means that campers also make up the majority of the 5,427 minivans sold – that is, vans and minibuses.
The camper trend will continue
Not despite the corona pandemic, but because of it: As holiday destinations abroad have become uncertain about pandemic measures or possible quarantine before or after the holidays, the Swiss are spending more and more your vacation in your own country in mobile hotel rooms called Camper. Many campsites have adapted to this and have even extended the season until November. “The trend towards camping as an infection-proof way of traveling during the pandemic continues,” says Auto Switzerland spokesman Christoph Wolnik.
Because campgrounds are booming across Europe, demand from many suppliers currently outstrips supply – buyers currently have to wait many months to get a VW T6 California as the most popular motorhome in Switzerland. According to Wollnik, things will remain like this for the foreseeable future: “We assume that this growth segment will be able to maintain itself against the general market trend in the coming months.
