2013 (First Half) France: Best-Selling Car Manufacturers and Models

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.

Renault Captur at the Geneva Auto Salon 2013

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:

   January to June (All half-year figures) 
   2013 2012 2011 % Share % Change
Total Market  930,320 1,048,298 1,225,084 100.0 -11.3
French  495,707 561,885 703,715 53.3 -11.8
Imported  434,613 488,433 521,369 46.7 -10.7
Manufacturers:
PSA  275,191 320,756 409,357 29.6 -14.3
Peugeot  150,997 170,272 220,928 16.2 -11.4
Citroen  124,194 150,484 188,429 13.4 -17.5
RENAULT Group  220,130 239,470 294,312 23.7 -8.1
Renault  175,207 198,287 246,578 18.8 -11.6
Dacia  44,923 41,183 47,734 4.8 9.1
VW Group  125,705 141,439 146,290 13.5 -11.2
Volkswagen  74,774 84,892 87,384 8.0 -11.9
Audi  29,722 31,527 30,672 3.1 -5.9
Seat  11,803 13,393 17,390 1.3 -12.0
Skoda  9,357 11,366 10,066 1.0 -18.0
FORD  43,317 55,907 65,507 4.7 -22.6
GM Group  42,990 57,336 70,462 4.6 -25.2
Opel  32,930 42,382 57,113 3.5 -22.5
Chevrolet  10,057 14,944 13,315 1.0 -32.8
TOYOTA Group  36,265 34,677 37,246 3.9 4.5
NISSAN Group  34,988 38,664 36,269 3.8 -9.6
FIAT Group  32,919 33,480 44,961 3.5 -19.0
Fiat  26,048 23,922 34,003 2.8 8.7
HYUNDAI Group  31,857 31,330 24,378 3.4 1.6
Kia  17,299 16,870 13,670 1.9 2.5
Hyundai  14,558 14,460 10,708 1.6 0.6
BMW Group  31,572 34,820 34,229 3.4 -9.3
BMW  22,237 23,403 23,415 2.4 -5.0
Mini  9,326 11,404 10,803 1.0 -18.0
MERCEDES Group  26,857 26,955 26,518 2.9 -0.4
Mercedes-Benz  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  HY 2013  % Market Share  Q1/2013  % Market Share
1 Renault Clio IV  55,887 6  27,645 6.4
2 Peugeot 208  51,640 5.6  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  21,569 2.3  10,243 2.4
7 Citroën C4 II  21,210 2.3  10,102 2.3
8 Volkswagen Polo  20,333 2.2  10,151 2.3
9 Renault Twingo II  20,313 2.2  10,205 2.4
10 Dacia Sandero  19,749 2.1  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)

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.