Guide · Test drive
Test drives at Auto Zürich 2026: 48 cars, 28 brands and your day plan
At Auto Zürich from 5 to 8 November 2026, the EV-Experience offers 48 vehicles from 28 brands for test drives: 43 fully electric cars and 5 plug-in hybrids. The drives are free, a guide rides along, and you book in advance on ev-experience.ch. Our test drive planner builds a schedule for your day at the show from the free slots.
What the EV-Experience is
According to Auto Zürich, the EV-Experience is «an offer of Auto Zürich that is open to all exhibiting brands». The show invites the importers; «whether and with which vehicles a brand takes part is decided by each importer». In 2025, 2’390 test drives took place there. According to the organiser, booking opens at 08:00, before the show opens, and under «My Experience» you can view and change your bookings.
Which brands offer drives and which do not
71 brands exhibit at the show, 28 of them offer test drives. Measured by new registrations of fully electric cars from January to September 2026, these 28 brands account for 40,7 percent of the market. Exhibiting but without test drives are, among others, Škoda with 11,4 percent, Tesla with 11,4, Volvo with 6,1, Mercedes-Benz with 5,8, Volkswagen with 5,1 and Audi with 4,9 percent.
The show does not give reasons: «We do not comment on the reasons of individual brands», and it refers to the importers instead. Nor does it say whether taking part costs a brand anything. How widespread the individual models are is shown in the model radar.
Planning your day at the show
Each vehicle has its own calendar with half-hour slots. If you want to drive several cars, you need slots that fit together and leave time to walk to the next stand. In the test drive planner you choose drivetrain, minimum range, number of drives, gap between two drives, days and time windows, plus preferred models and slots you have already booked. Only when you click «Build schedule» does it check the free slots and propose a day plan.
You book every slot yourself on ev-experience.ch, and every suggestion links there. By the time you book, a slot may be gone; there is no booking guarantee. The planner is an independent service of wattradar.ch and stores none of your details. Auto Zürich wrote to us on 12 October 2026 that, subject to conditions, it has no objection to it.
What to check on a test drive
Half an hour passes quickly. In the second part of the planner you build a checklist from 95 items in 10 groups, one sheet per drive: preparation, walk-round at the stand, interior, controls, driving, consumption, photos and questions for the adviser. After each drive, note what struck you before you get into the next car.
What this means for a purchase
- Compare in one day. 28 brands in one place save you appointments with as many dealers.
- Drive with a purpose. Pick models that fit your budget and driving profile. What an electric car costs per year is in the article Is an electric car worth it, and which models exist at which price level on the page Affordable electric cars.
- Drive missing brands at a dealer. Škoda, Tesla, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi offer no test drive at the EV-Experience.
- Do not judge range by the show drive. A half-hour drive does not show how far the car gets in winter or on the motorway.
What we do not know
- Why major brands are missing. The show gives no reasons and refers to the importers. We have not asked them yet.
- Whether taking part costs anything. The show gives no information on the terms with its partners.
- How much demand individual vehicles have. The planner uses the free slots only for your plan. We do not analyse them.
Sources: exhibitors: Auto Zürich brand overview, retrieved on 09.10.2026. Test drives: ev-experience.ch, one page per vehicle, retrieved on 08.10.2026. Quotes and number of test drives in 2025: Auto Zürich, written reply to wattradar of 12.10.2026, translated by us. Market shares: new registrations of fully electric cars January to September 2026, auto-schweiz, ASTRA/IVZ register, own analysis.
Transparency: the market shares count brands, not models. A brand with test drives often offers only one or two of its models. The test drive planner is a service of wattradar.ch and has no connection to the organiser.
