Carvolution faces scrutiny over Swiss pricing transparency

The Swiss car subscription company Carvolution is facing scrutiny regarding its pricing transparency. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) has stated that the company’s method of announcing prices violates the Price Indication Ordinance.

Investigations suggest that the low monthly rates advertised on the company’s homepage can be misleading. These rates often require a significant upfront down payment that is not immediately clear to consumers. For example, one customer reported expecting a monthly rate of 415 CHF, but after accounting for a 3,240 CHF down payment, the effective monthly cost rose to 685 CHF.

Carvolution, founded by Léa Miggiano, positions itself as a simpler, all-inclusive alternative to traditional leasing by bundling insurance, service, and taxes into a fixed monthly fee. While the company aims to provide more predictable costs than leasing, authorities argue that the current presentation of subscription prices obscures the true total cost to the consumer.