Switzerland EV 2026: CHF 40 Vignette, 120 km/h Motorway Cap
Electric Vehicle Driving Guide
Switzerland asks two things of an electric car before it asks anything about charging: the CHF 40 motorway vignette, annual only and valid from 1 December to 31 January, and respect for a 120 km/h motorway limit enforced with a fixed-ticket scale that hands anything more than 25 km/h over to a court. The EU Alternative Fuels Observatory counts 7.81% of the light-duty fleet as alternative-fuelled in 2025.
Charging Infrastructure
| Motorway vignette | CHF 40, annual, 1 Dec to 31 Jan, sticker or e-vignette |
| Speed limits | 50 urban / 80 rural / 120 motorway |
| Alternative-fuelled share of light-duty fleet (2025) | 7.81% (EU Alternative Fuels Observatory) |
| Destination-charging example | Matterhorn Terminal Täsch: 131 E-Zone spaces, 22 kW Type 2 |
| EV readiness | 4/5 |
Connector Types
- CCS2 for DC fast charging
- Type 2 for AC charging
The Täsch terminal is a fair picture of Swiss destination charging: 22 kW AC with a tethered Type 2 cable, chargeable use, paid by QR code with a credit card, Twint, Apple Pay or Google Pay, inside a car park with a 2.30 m height limit.
Charging Networks
- Gofast
- Ionity
- Evpass
- Lidl Schweiz
- Tesla Supercharger
Vignette and Tolls
The vignette covers all national roads with green motorway signs. It is sold at the border, at petrol stations, at Swiss Post and online, and the e-vignette version is tied to the plate rather than the windscreen. There is no short-term option. A few tunnels charge their own toll on top; the Great St Bernard and Munt la Schera tunnels are the ones a visitor is most likely to meet.
Speed Enforcement
| Over the limit | Urban | Rural | Motorway |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 km/h | CHF 40 | CHF 40 | CHF 20 |
| 6 to 10 km/h | CHF 120 | CHF 100 | CHF 60 |
| 11 to 15 km/h | CHF 250 | CHF 160 | CHF 120 |
| 16 to 20 km/h | court | CHF 240 | CHF 180 |
| 21 to 25 km/h | court | court | CHF 260 |
Above the fixed bands the fine becomes income-based. Since 1 October 2023 the Raser thresholds are 40 km/h over where the limit is 30, 50 over where it is 50, 60 over where it is 80 and 80 over above that: one to four years’ imprisonment and the car can be confiscated.
Range Tips
- Pass roads cost far more energy on the climb than the flat consumption figure suggests, and give some of it back on the descent through regeneration; arrive at the foot of a pass with margin
- Snow-covered pass closures are seasonal; the tunnel alternatives stay open
- Cantonal motor vehicle tax and any purchase incentive apply only to cars registered in that canton
Practical Tips for EV Drivers
- Plan the long legs around fast chargers and treat the rest as destination charging at the hotel or apartment
- Charge to about 80% on the road; the last fifth of the battery takes disproportionately long on a DC charger
- Pre-condition the cabin and battery while still plugged in on cold mornings
- Keep at least one roaming card and one app ready: contactless bank cards are common on new DC sites, older AC posts still expect a card or an app
- Carry your own Type 2 cable; many kerbside AC points are untethered
Sources
- ASTRA, Swiss Federal Roads Office: motorway vignette
- Fixed-penalty scale: Ordnungsbussenverordnung SR 314.11, Annex 1 no. 303 (status 1 January 2025), via site data
- Zermatt Tourism, Matterhorn Terminal Täsch
- European Alternative Fuels Observatory, Switzerland
More Resources
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The vignette is CHF 40, annual only, and valid for 14 months from 1 December of the previous year to 31 January of the following year. It is sold as a windscreen sticker or as an e-vignette tied to the number plate, at the border, petrol stations, Swiss Post and online. Drive is not the criterion; the road is.
CCS2 for DC fast charging and Type 2 for AC, as everywhere in the EU. The Matterhorn Terminal car park in Täsch, for example, has 131 spaces in an E-Zone with 22 kW AC Type 2 chargers paid by QR code, card, Twint, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Fixed tickets cover only the small bands: on a motorway CHF 20 for 1 to 5 km/h over, CHF 60 for 6 to 10, CHF 120 for 11 to 15, CHF 180 for 16 to 20 and CHF 260 for 21 to 25. Above that the case goes to court and the fine is income-based. Exceeding a 120 limit by 80 km/h or more is treated as a Raser offence with a prison sentence and possible confiscation of the car.
The EU Alternative Fuels Observatory puts alternative-fuelled light-duty vehicles at 7.81% of the Swiss fleet in 2025.
Purchase incentives and motor vehicle tax are cantonal matters in Switzerland, so the rules differ from canton to canton and are only relevant if the car is registered there. For a visitor the costs that matter are the vignette, the tunnel and pass tolls and the speeding scale.