Switzerland January 2026: BMW X1 secures first pole position

The BMW X1 is the best-selling vehicle in Switzerland in January.

It’s a shy start of the year for the Swiss new car market at -5.1% year-on-year in January to 14,207 registrations. 4×4 sales drop -6% to 7,124 and 50.8% share vs. 51.3% a year ago. Petrol sales sink -22.2% to 2,975 and 21.2% share vs. 25.8% last year while diesel is down -28.5% to 873 and 6.2% share vs. 8.3% in January 2025. In contrast HEVs are up 1.4% to 5,557 and 39.6% share vs. 37%, PHEVs soar 26.1% to 1,709 and 12.2% share vs. 9.2% but BEVs disappoint at +0.1% to 2,913 and 20.8% share vs. 19.7% a year ago.

Over in the brands ranking, BMW (-20.2%) snaps the lead despite a harsh year-on-year loss (the carmaker broke its share record a year ago). This is the first time since April 2025 that BMW is the best-selling brand in Switzerland. Volkswagen (-0.3%) is relegated to 2nd place 31 units below. Skoda (-5.4%) and Mercedes (-2.9%) follow with Toyota (+24.1%) excelling at #5. Below Audi (-14.4%), struggling, the rest of the Top 10 all register positive results. Volvo (+23.4%) is the most dynamic ahead of Kia (+9.9%), Dacia (+3.4%) and Renault (+0.4%). Further down, Citroen (+33.3%) stands out at #15 vs. #24 in December.

Model-wise, after the BMW X3 signed its first win a year ago, it’s now the turn of the BMW X1 (+17.7%) to do the same thing, even though it only holds 1.9% share as Switzerland is the most fragmented market in the world. The Skoda Kodiaq (-10.8%) is up 11 spots on December to #2 despite falling hard. The Toyota Yaris (+36.6%) is up 21 to #3, the BMW X3 (-27.2%) up 30 to #4 and the Renault Clio (+229.3%) up 78 to #5. Leader over the Full Year 2025, the VW Tiguan (-20.1%) is down to #6 for the month. Notice also the new Skoda Elroq ranking #10.

Previous post: Switzerland Full Year 2025: First win for the VW Tiguan

One year ago: Switzerland January 2025: BMW breaks share record, X3 signs first ever win

Full January 2026 Top 62 All brands and Top 355 All models below.