Stefan LeggeRonny OberholzerJason Rosenthal2023-07-202023-07-202023-07-20https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/117747Swiss imports of cars document two fundamental shifts: location and engine. Fewer cars are bought from Japan or France, more from Spain, the Czech Republic, and (recently) China. Concerning car engines, the data show a growing share of imported cars that are purely electric. China has quickly moved into the top-10 of Switzerland's source countries for cars and is the second-most important supplier of EVs. Germany remains by far the key source country, accounting for almost 40~percent of all Swiss car imports and an even larger share of EV imports. For Switzerland, a nation that has no car industry but a significant group of leading suppliers to the car industry, the developments seen in the import data raise questions about location choices and strategic market positioning.en-USCarsImportsSwitzerlandChinadiscussion paper