Recent data on new car sales in Switzerland in 2021 show that 31,823 new electric cars were registered in 2021. The data also show that 48% of new registrations were 4x4s. Electric cars made up 13% of the 238,481 new vehicles registered in Switzerland in 2021. Diesel (42%), petrol (14%) and hybrid (31%) cars made […]
Covid: 164,000 new cases this week in Switzerland
This week, 164,333 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Switzerland, up 16% from the 142,085 cases reported a week earlier. Given the high contagiousness of the Omicron variant, which now dominates (84%) in Switzerland, and how mild the symptoms often are, the real number of cases could be significantly higher. This week, 418 people were hospitalised with […]
Long term mortgage rates rising in Switzerland
Over the last few years mortgage interest rates have been exceptionally low in Switzerland. However, since mid-December 2021 they have risen and are at levels last seen in 2018. According to recent data collected the newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft, Swiss mortgage interest rates are 0.25 percentage points higher than a month earlier. 10-year guide rates […]
Covid: demand for booster shots drops sharply in western Switzerland
The number of people getting third booster doses of vaccine against Covid-19 has fallen sharply in French-speaking Switzerland over recent weeks. In Geneva, around 200 people a day with appointments are failing to show up, reported Le Matin. In Vaud, the number of vaccination appointments made has dropped by half compared to the period leading […]
New Swiss company tax rate set for 2024
On 12 January 2022, the Federal Council decided to implement the minimum tax rate for companies that was agreed by the OECD and G20 member states last year. The 15% minimum tax rate is to come into force on 1 January 2024. The new minimum 15% tax rate, which will apply to multinational companies with […]
Majority against a general 30 km/hour speed limit in Swiss cities
The number of 30 km/hour speed zones is rising in Swiss cities and towns. Some are considering plans such as making 30 km/hour zones standard and 50 km/hour zones an exception. However, a recent poll suggests 84% of the population supports the current system of a 50 km/hour standard limit, with exceptions for 30 km/hour […]
US court rejects Swiss Gruyere cheese challenge
In Switzerland, Gruyère is a cheese with a strict recipe originally produced in a region (with a town) of the same name in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. On 7 January 2022, a judge at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia affirmed a ruling by the U.S. Patent and Trademark […]
Covid: Swiss government cuts isolation and quarantine period to 5 days
On 12 January 2022, Switzerland’s federal government announced that the isolation and quarantine period in Switzerland would be reduced to five days with immediate effect. In addition, it proposes that the validity of Covid certificates be reduced to 270 days and that the measures introduced on 17 December 2021 to contain the spread of the […]
No weakening expected in Swiss house prices
The Swiss housing market continues to rise with no signs of weakening, reported RTS this week. According to the real estate platform immoscout24, the average price per m2 for a family home in Switzerland has risen from CHF 6,700 to CHF 7,200 over the last 12 months, a rise of 7%. Apartment prices have risen […]
Swiss researchers develop edible alternative to plastic packaging
Packaging lightens the human load on the environment by substantially cutting food wastage. However, it comes with its own environmental problems. Micro plastic can now be found in many corners of the ecosystem. Swiss researchers might have come up with a solution that improves the problem at both ends by turning certain food waste into […]
