The French car market was weak during the first half of 2013 with Renault, Peugeot and Citroen the top-selling brands. The Renault Clio is France’s favorite car model.
From January to June 2013, new passenger vehicle registrations in France declined by 11.3% to below the million car mark. PSA remained the strongest car-manufacturing group while Renault, Peugeot, Citroen and Volkswagen were the best-selling car brands in France during the first half of 2013. The Renault Clio was France’s favorite car model during the first six months of 2013.
The French Car Market in 2013 (First Half Year)
The new car market in France during the first six months of 2013 contracted by 11.3% to 930,320 new passenger vehicle registrations. This was well below the psychological million car mark while the market share of French car manufacturing groups fell to below half a million vehicles. French car producers only marginally underperformed the overall market.
If the figures are adjusted for two fewer working days during the first half of 2013 compared to 2012, the French new car market declined by 9.9%
Best-Selling Car Makes in France in 2013 (Half Year)
The top-selling passenger vehicle manufacturing groups and brands in France during the first six months of 2013 according to car sales statistics released by the CCFA were:
| Â | Â January to June (All half-year figures)Â | ||||
| Â | Â 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | % Share | % Change |
| Total Market | Â 930,320 | 1,048,298 | 1,225,084 | 100.0 | -11.3 |
| French | Â 495,707 | 561,885 | 703,715 | 53.3 | -11.8 |
| Imported | Â 434,613 | 488,433 | 521,369 | 46.7 | -10.7 |
| Manufacturers: | |||||
| PSA | Â 275,191 | 320,756 | 409,357 | 29.6 | -14.3 |
| Peugeot | Â 150,997 | 170,272 | 220,928 | 16.2 | -11.4 |
| Citroen | Â 124,194 | 150,484 | 188,429 | 13.4 | -17.5 |
| RENAULT Group | Â 220,130 | 239,470 | 294,312 | 23.7 | -8.1 |
| Renault | Â 175,207 | 198,287 | 246,578 | 18.8 | -11.6 |
| Dacia | Â 44,923 | 41,183 | 47,734 | 4.8 | 9.1 |
| VW Group | Â 125,705 | 141,439 | 146,290 | 13.5 | -11.2 |
| Volkswagen | Â 74,774 | 84,892 | 87,384 | 8.0 | -11.9 |
| Audi | Â 29,722 | 31,527 | 30,672 | 3.1 | -5.9 |
| Seat | Â 11,803 | 13,393 | 17,390 | 1.3 | -12.0 |
| Skoda | Â 9,357 | 11,366 | 10,066 | 1.0 | -18.0 |
| FORD | Â 43,317 | 55,907 | 65,507 | 4.7 | -22.6 |
| GM Group | Â 42,990 | 57,336 | 70,462 | 4.6 | -25.2 |
| Opel | Â 32,930 | 42,382 | 57,113 | 3.5 | -22.5 |
| Chevrolet | Â 10,057 | 14,944 | 13,315 | 1.0 | -32.8 |
| TOYOTA Group | Â 36,265 | 34,677 | 37,246 | 3.9 | 4.5 |
| NISSAN Group | Â 34,988 | 38,664 | 36,269 | 3.8 | -9.6 |
| FIAT Group | Â 32,919 | 33,480 | 44,961 | 3.5 | -19.0 |
| Fiat | Â 26,048 | 23,922 | 34,003 | 2.8 | 8.7 |
| HYUNDAI Group | Â 31,857 | 31,330 | 24,378 | 3.4 | 1.6 |
| Kia | Â 17,299 | 16,870 | 13,670 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
| Hyundai | Â 14,558 | 14,460 | 10,708 | 1.6 | 0.6 |
| BMW Group | Â 31,572 | 34,820 | 34,229 | 3.4 | -9.3 |
| BMW | Â 22,237 | 23,403 | 23,415 | 2.4 | -5.0 |
| Mini | Â 9,326 | 11,404 | 10,803 | 1.0 | -18.0 |
| MERCEDES Group | Â 26,857 | 26,955 | 26,518 | 2.9 | -0.4 |
| Mercedes-Benz | Â 24,338 | 24,145 | 23,073 | 2.6 | 0.8 |
| Source: CCFA / Figures include only brands selling more than 10,000 cars | |||||
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers and Brands in France in 2013 (Half Year)
Except for Toyota and Hyundai, all car-manufacturing groups saw a decline in sales in France during the first half of 2013. The only car brands to have improved sales during the first six months of 2013 in France were Dacia, Fiat, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, and Mercedes-Benz.
The PSA Group remained the strongest car manufacturer in France but both Peugeot and especially Citroen underperformed the market.
Renault remained the second strongest car manufacturer in France followed by the Volkswagen Group. Another six months of very weak sales saw Ford reclaiming fourth place from GM.
Toyota was the most improved manufacturing group in France and gained two places at the expense of the Nissan and BMW groups. The Italian FIAT conglomerate improved a place from last year, as did the Hyundai Group. BMW slipped from seventh last year to tenth while the Mercedes Group continue to outperform the wider market.
There were no changes at the top of the list of best-selling car brands in France during the first half of 2013. Renault continues to lead Peugeot and Citroen with fourth-placed Volkswagen the strongest foreign brand.
Dacia was the most improved brand and moved up two places to fifth at the expense of Ford and Opel. Ford slipped on place to sixth while another weak performance by Opel saw the brand slipping from sixth to ninth.
Toyota saw an increase in sales in France and improved two places to seventh. Nissan remained at eighth and Audi at tenth.
German luxury car brands continue to outperform the overall French car market with Mercedes-Benz even recording positive numbers.
Top-Selling Car Models in France in 2013 (Half Year)
The top ten best-selling car models in France during the first six months of 2013 according to sales figures released by the CCFA were:
| Rank | Make & Model | Â HY 2013Â | % Market Share | Â Q1/2013Â | % Market Share |
| 1 | Renault Clio IV | Â 55,887 | 6 | Â 27,645 | 6.4 |
| 2 | Peugeot 208 | Â 51,640 | 5.6 | Â 24,010 | 5.5 |
| 3 | Renault Scénic III |  27,045 | 2.9 |  11,503 | 2.7 |
| 4 | Renault Mégane III |  25,435 | 2.7 |  13,325 | 3.1 |
| 5 | Citroën C3 II |  23,334 | 2.5 |  10,937 | 2.5 |
| 6 | Peugeot 3008 | Â 21,569 | 2.3 | Â 10,243 | 2.4 |
| 7 | Citroën C4 II |  21,210 | 2.3 |  10,102 | 2.3 |
| 8 | Volkswagen Polo | Â 20,333 | 2.2 | Â 10,151 | 2.3 |
| 9 | Renault Twingo II | Â 20,313 | 2.2 | Â 10,205 | 2.4 |
| 10 | Dacia Sandero | Â 19,749 | 2.1 | Â 9,067 | 2.1 |
There were no changes in the car models on the top ten best-selling cars list in France for the first half of 2013 compared to the first quarter of this year. The only position changes on the list were that the Renault Scenic and Mégane swopped places, as did the Citroën C4 and Renault Twingo.
The Volkswagen Polo remained France’s favorite imported car. However, if sales of the Golf VII (eleventh) and the outgoing Golf VI are added, the Volkswagen Golf would have outsold the Polo. (F130702)
