SUV report: Which SUV models are popular?
SUVs are popular in Switzerland: 58% of new registrations in 2025 were SUVs. The most popular SUV models come from Škoda, BMW and VW.
02.06.2026
iStock / Michael Derrer Fuchs
1. What does the Comparis SUV report show?
The Comparis SUV report analyses each year the share of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) among the newly registered cars in Switzerland. The result: demand continued to rise in 2025.
While the share of SUVs in new registrations was 56% in 2024, it has risen to 58% in 2025. Since 2015, the market share of SUVs has increased sharply: At that time, it was still at 28%. The 50% mark was crossed in 2022.
Comparis e-mobility expert Jean-Claude Frick puts it into context:
Switzerland is driving SUVs – and ever more consistently. The classic passenger car is increasingly becoming a niche product.
SUV is the abbreviation for «Sport Utility Vehicle». The typical features of an SUV are:
Higher seating position
Greater ground clearance. Ground clearance is the distance between the underside of the vehicle and the road surface
Body type, which resembles an off-road vehicle
Unlike off-road vehicles, SUVs do not have to have any off-road capability to show.
2. Which SUVs are the most popular?
In 2025, Škoda mainly thanks to the Elroq and the Kodiaq the leader in new SUV registrations: with 14’758 newly registered vehicles, the Czech brand accounted for 11% of all new SUV registrations – and experienced the largest growth between 2024 and 2025. Overall, more than three quarters of all new Škoda registrations in 2025 were SUVs.
BMW was displaced from the top position and, with 12’476 new registrations in 2025, ended up in second place. Volkswagen has moved up from fifth to third place pushed forward. The biggest losers in terms of new registrations in 2025 were Ford and Tesla.
The most popular makes and models can be seen in the following chart.
Just over a quarter of the newly registered SUVs in Switzerland were electric SUVs. In 2020, it was only 9%. Since 2024, the figure of about a quarter has stagnated – but in absolute terms, the number of electric SUVs has continued to rise.
Although the range of electric models is growing, we are currently seeing a sideways movement in SUV powertrains. Strong new releases in combustion engines and hybrids are slowing the advance of electric SUVs. However, the current uncertainty at the pumps is acting as a catalyst. When petrol and diesel become more expensive, the efficiency advantage of electric SUVs suddenly comes back into the consciousness of Swiss car buyers.
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How popular was your car in 2025? And how has its popularity changed over the years? Take a look at the interactive graphic.
3. Farewell to the estate car
The figures also show that SUV estate cars are replacing classic family cars. For example, the Škoda Octavia now accounts for only 14% of Škoda sales – in 2015, it was still in second place among the most registered cars in Switzerland.
The fact that significantly more than one in two new cars is now an SUV shows that this body shape has finally become the standard and has displaced the classic saloon or estate car as the preferred family vehicle. Models like the Octavia symbolise an era that is now coming to an end. While the Octavia used to be the backbone of the brand, SUVs now account for over three quarters of Škoda registrations – the classic estate car has become a niche product.
4. The downside of SUVs
The triumph of SUVs brings challenges: SUVs are larger and heavier than other cars. This leads, for example, to higher fuel consumption, higher stress on the road infrastructure and space problems in cities. In addition, SUVs are more dangerous for other road users than smaller cars.
All car deals in one place?
Whether SUVs, compact cars, estate cars or coupés: at Comparis, you can find the listings of the major Swiss car marketplaces at a glance.
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This article was first published on 21.11.2024
