Renault, Peugeot and Citroen were the top-selling car brands in France during the first nine months of 2013. Clio was the favorite car model of the French.
Car sales in France continued to slide during the third quarter of 2013 but at a slower pace than earlier in 2013. During the first nine months of 2013, new passenger vehicle registrations in France declined by 8.5%. PSA remained the strongest car-manufacturing group in France while Renault was the best-selling car brand. Volkswagen was the top car importer. The Renault Clio was the top-selling car model thus far in 2013 in France.
The French New Car Market in 2013 (Q3)
New passenger vehicle registrations in France declined by 8.5% during the first nine months of 2013 to 1,309,858 cars. The French car market was slightly positive in September and July making the third quarter less weak compared to mid-year when the market was down by 11.3%
The pain was equally shared between imported and domestic car manufacturers. Imported cars took 46.5% of the French car market during the first nine months of 2013.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers and Brands in France in 2013 (Q3)
Car sales statistics for January to September 2013 released by the CCFA show the following as the top-selling car manufacturing groups and marques in France:
| January to September (Q1-3) | ||||
| 2013 | % Change | 2012 | 2011 | |
| Total Market | 1,309,858 | -8.5 | 1,430,832 | 1,661,271 |
| French | 701,249 | -8.5 | 766,074 | 944,316 |
| Imported | 608,609 | -8.5 | 664,758 | 716,955 |
| Manufacturers: | ||||
| PSA | 385,809 | -12 | 438,232 | 537,345 |
| Peugeot | 212,047 | -9.4 | 234,027 | 288,797 |
| Citroen | 173,762 | -14.9 | 204,205 | 248,548 |
| RENAULT Group | 314,893 | -3.5 | 326,152 | 406,821 |
| Renault | 249,602 | -6 | 265,339 | 344,302 |
| Dacia | 65,291 | 7.3 | 60,813 | 62,519 |
| VW Group | 175,732 | -10.6 | 196,467 | 205,324 |
| Volkswagen | 102,943 | -11.6 | 116,373 | 121,089 |
| Audi | 42,787 | -6 | 45,466 | 43,682 |
| Seat | 16,378 | -9.6 | 18,107 | 25,136 |
| Skoda | 13,556 | -16.1 | 16,136 | 15,043 |
| GM Group | 61,580 | -18.1 | 75,097 | 92,061 |
| Opel | 45,108 | -19 | 55,613 | 74,200 |
| Chevrolet | 16,464 | -15.5 | 19,468 | 17,814 |
| FORD | 56,615 | -20.1 | 70,865 | 86,865 |
| TOYOTA Group | 53,269 | 6.8 | 49,867 | 51,335 |
| NISSAN Group | 47,969 | -9.9 | 53,155 | 52,145 |
| BMW Group | 45,850 | -6.2 | 48,898 | 48,525 |
| BMW | 32,478 | -3 | 33,478 | 33,064 |
| Mini | 13,361 | -13.3 | 15,402 | 15,444 |
| FIAT Group | 45,355 | 2.2 | 44,312 | 60,409 |
| Fiat | 35,541 | 10.9 | 32,002 | 45,030 |
| HYUNDAI Group | 44,451 | 0.3 | 44,303 | 34,284 |
| Kia | 24,408 | 1.4 | 24,057 | 19,670 |
| Hyundai | 20,043 | -1 | 20,246 | 14,614 |
| MERCEDES_Group | 37,272 | 0 | 37,261 | 36,404 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 33,579 | 0.6 | 33,377 | 31,741 |
Source: CCFA
Figures exclude “others”
Top-Selling Car Marques in France in 2013 (Q3)
The PSA Group remained the strongest car manufacturer in France during the first nine months of 2013 despite strongly underperforming the broader market. Both Peugeot and Citroen saw much weaker sales.
Renault saw a decline in sales but outperformed the broader market. Renault’s budget brand Dacia saw strong growth with the Dacia Sandero being the sixth most popular car in France thus far in 2013.
The Volkswagen Group easily remained the strongest car importer into France despite weak sales. The Volkswagen brand itself suffered double-digit losses. GM and Ford maintained their relative positions despite loosing around another fifth of sales.
Apart from Dacia, Toyota was the only top brand to have seen sales growth in the French car market during the first three quarters of 2013. A weak performance by Nissan saw the Japanese carmaker slipped a position below Toyota.
The BMW Group narrowly outperformed the overall market although BMW-branded cars sold only marginally fewer cars than a year ago.
A strong performance by Fiat boosted the Fiat Group into positive territory despite most brands in the group declining by a fifth.
Car sales by South Korean manufacturers were flat with a slight increase by Kia outbalanced by a slight decline by Hyundai.
Mercedes sales were flat but Mercedes-Benz cars actually saw unit sales increase from a year ago despite a legal battle with the French authorities that saw many new Mercedes-Benz car owners unable to register their cars.
Top-Selling Car Models in France in 2013 (Q3)
The top ten best-selling car models in France during the first nine months of 2013 according to CCFA were:
| Rank | Make & Model | Q3/2013 | % Market Share |
| 1 | Renault Clio IV | 77428 | 5.9 |
| 2 | Peugeot 208 | 69446 | 5.3 |
| 3 | Renault Scénic III | 38114 | 2.9 |
| 4 | Renault Mégane III | 34473 | 2.6 |
| 5 | Citroën C3 II | 34202 | 2.6 |
| 6 | Dacia Sandero | 30181 | 2.3 |
| 7 | Peugeot 3008 | 29338 | 2.2 |
| 8 | Renault Twingo II | 28935 | 2.2 |
| 9 | Citroën C4 II | 28140 | 2.1 |
| 10 | Volkswagen Polo | 27387 | 2.1 |
Source: CCFA / AAA Data
The Renault Clio has been the top-selling car model in France for all of 2013. During the first nine months of 2012, the Clio was the second most-popular car in France.
Compared to the first three quarters of 2013, the Mégane slipped from first to fourth and the Citroen C3 from third to fifth. The Peugeot 208 improved from sixth to second while the Scenic was not on the top ten list a year ago.
The Dacia Sandero also entered the top-ten list this year and is now the sixth most popular car in France. During Q1 and at half year, the Sandero was only tenth popular.
The Volkswagen Polo was the most popular imported car in France during the first nine months of 2013. Two cars to watch are the VW Golf VII (11 th) and Renault Captur (12th) – both new models that missed out on sales at the start of 2013.