The PSA Group (Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel) was again the largest car manufacturer in France in 2017 with Renault the best-selling car brand and the Clio the favorite car model of the French.
In 2017, PSA increased its positions as the leading car manufacturer in France with strong sales by Peugeot and Opel sales included since the final quarter of 2017. However, Renault remained the largest car brand in France in 2017 despite underperforming the French market. Volkswagen was again the leading foreign car brand in France in 2017 despite weaker sales. New passenger vehicle registrations in France in 2017 increased by 4.7% to 2,110,751 cars.
The New Vehicle Market in France in 2017 (Full Year)
New light vehicle registrations in France in 2017 increased by 5.1% to 2,549,390 vehicles. New passenger vehicle registrations in France in 2017 increased by 4.7% to 2,110,751 cars while light commercial vehicle registrations increased by a stronger 7% to 438,639 vehicles.
Heavy vehicle registrations in France increased by 7% to 50,434 vehicles in 2017. Used car sales increased by a more moderate 0.6% to 5,678,604 sales.
Most of the gains of new passenger vehicle sales in France in 2017 accrued to French manufacturers that increased sales by 6.7% vs. a 2.4% increase for foreign brands. The numbers are slightly skewed by Opel sales being registered as part of the PSA Group since August 2017.
There was a marked shift away from diesel cars in France in 2017 with diesel’s market share slipping from 52.13% to 47.29%. Petrol driven cars increased market share to 47.58% (from 43.82%).
Hybrid sales increased to 81,547 cars (58,385 in 2016) for a market share of 3.86%. Of these, 11.868 were plug-in hybrids.
Electric car sales in France increased from 21,752 in 2016 to 24,910 in 2017 for a market share of 1.18%.
Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in France in 2017
The following were the top-selling carmakers in France in 2017 according to the CCFA:
| Manufacturer | 2017 | 2016 | % Change |
| Total Market | 2,110,751 | 2,015,186 | 4.7 |
| French Marques: | 1,151,190 | 1,078,433 | 6.7 |
| PSA Group | 616,585 | 558,976 | 10.3 |
| – Citroen | 201,374 | 195,011 | 3.3 |
| – DS | 21,323 | 28,081 | -24.1 |
| – Peugeot | 366,872 | 335,884 | 9.2 |
| – Opel | 27,016 | – | |
| RENAULT Group | 534,450 | 518,462 | 3.1 |
| – Renault | 416,578 | 407,933 | 2.1 |
| – Dacia | 117,865 | 110,529 | 6.6 |
| Imported Brands: | 959,561 | 936,753 | 2.4 |
| BMW Group | 87,748 | 85,712 | 2.4 |
| – BMW | 61,309 | 60,521 | 1.3 |
| – Mini | 26,431 | 25,176 | 5.0 |
| DAIMLER Group | 76,169 | 71,040 | 7.2 |
| – Mercedes-Benz | 68,007 | 62,060 | 9.6 |
| – Smart | 8,162 | 8,980 | -9.1 |
| FCA Group | 89,314 | 81,014 | 10.2 |
| – Alfa Romeo | 9,208 | 7,334 | 25.6 |
| – Fiat | 68,196 | 62,545 | 9.0 |
| – Jeep | 10,892 | 9,983 | 9.1 |
| FORD Group | 84,382 | 79,173 | 6.6 |
| – Ford | 84,382 | 79,173 | 6.6 |
| GM Group | 45,716 | 68,453 | -33.2 |
| – Opel | 45,548 | 68,281 | -33.3 |
| HYUNDAI Group | 66,805 | 61,727 | 8.2 |
| – Hyundai | 29,570 | 28,043 | 5.4 |
| – Kia | 37,235 | 33,684 | 10.5 |
| NISSAN Group | 73,477 | 72,367 | 1.5 |
| – Nissan | 71,492 | 69,072 | 3.5 |
| TOYOTA Group | 94,052 | 82,796 | 13.6 |
| – Lexus | 5,390 | – | 5.7 |
| – Toyota | 88,662 | 77,696 | 14.1 |
| VW Group | 262,173 | 258,603 | 1.4 |
| – Audi | 65,690 | 64,686 | 1.6 |
| – Porsche | 5,457 | – | 1.1 |
| – Seat | 24,715 | 21,648 | 14.2 |
| – Skoda | 26,799 | 23,620 | 13.5 |
| – Volkswagen | 139,360 | 143,102 | -2.6 |
| VOLVO Group | 16,219 | 15,599 | 3.9 |
| – Volvo | 16,219 | 15,599 | 3.9 |
| Souce: CCFA |
Breakdown excludes smaller brands and makes not listed individually.
Top-selling Car Makers in France in 2017
The PSA Group remained by far the largest carmaker in France in 2017. Peugeot sales increased by nearly 30,000 cars while Citroen had its best performance in years. DS sales were down another quarter and in 2017 was only half of DS sales in France in 2013. Opel sales are included with the PSA Group from August 2017.
The Renault Group underperformed the broader market with Renault sales up by only 2.1%. Despite loosing some market share, Renault easily remained the best-selling car brand in France in 2017. Dacia sales increased by a stronger 6.6%.
The Volkswagen Group remained the largest foreign carmaker in France in 2017 but bled market share. Volkswagen brand performed particularly weak with sales down 2.6% – only Smart and DS performed worse. However, VW sales seemed to recover slightly towards the end of 2017. Both Audi and Porsche underperformed the market while Seat and Skoda were amongst the best performers in France in 2017.
A strong performance by Toyota allowed the Japanese carmaker to move ahead of BMW in 2017. Both Toyota and Lexus outperformed while BMW sales were flat and Mini sales just above market average.
Sales of the FCA Group increased by a tenth with Alfa Romeo the most-improved brand in France in 2017 and both Fiat and Jeep increasing sales strongly.
Ford sales in France recovered in 2017. The Daimler Group also had a strong performance with Mercedes-Benz sales up by nearly a tenth while Smart was one of only three brands in France with weaker sales in 2017.
Both Nissan and Volvo increased sales below the market average to loose market share in France in 2017.
The GM Group was the only carmaker in France in 2017 with weaker sales. This is purely a statistically anomaly – Opel was sold to PSA and vehicle sales are included as a French brand since August 2017. Opel sales in France actually increased in 2017.
Best-Selling Car Brands in France in 2017 (Full Year)
The following were the 25 top-selling car marques in France in 2017 according to the CCFA:
| Manufacturer | 2017 | 2016 | % Change | |
| 1 | – Renault | 416,578 | 407,933 | 2.1 |
| 2 | – Peugeot | 366,872 | 335,884 | 9.2 |
| 3 | – Citroen | 201,374 | 195,011 | 3.3 |
| 4 | – Volkswagen | 139,360 | 143,102 | -2.6 |
| 5 | – Dacia | 117,865 | 110,529 | 6.6 |
| 6 | – Toyota | 88,662 | 77,696 | 14.1 |
| 7 | – Ford | 84,382 | 79,173 | 6.6 |
| 8 | – Opel | 72,564 | 68,281 | 6.3 |
| 9 | – Nissan | 71,492 | 69,072 | 3.5 |
| 10 | – Fiat | 68,196 | 62,545 | 9.0 |
| 11 | – Mercedes-Benz | 68,007 | 62,060 | 9.6 |
| 12 | – Audi | 65,690 | 64,686 | 1.6 |
| 13 | – BMW | 61,309 | 60,521 | 1.3 |
| 14 | – Kia | 37,235 | 33,684 | 10.5 |
| 15 | – Hyundai | 29,570 | 28,043 | 5.4 |
| 16 | – Skoda | 26,799 | 23,620 | 13.5 |
| 17 | – Mini | 26,431 | 25,176 | 5.0 |
| 18 | – Seat | 24,715 | 21,648 | 14.2 |
| 19 | – DS | 21,323 | 28,081 | -24.1 |
| 20 | – Volvo | 16,219 | 15,599 | 3.9 |
| 21 | – Jeep | 10,892 | 9,983 | 9.1 |
| 22 | – Alfa Romeo | 9,208 | 7,334 | 25.6 |
| 23 | – Smart | 8,162 | 8,980 | -9.1 |
| 24 | – Porsche | 5,457 | – | 1.1 |
| 25 | – Lexus | 5,390 | – | 5.7 |
| Souce: CCFA |
Top 10 Car Brands in France in 2017
The top five best-selling car brand in France in 2017 were unchanged from a year ago. While Renault and Citroen underperformed the broader market, Volkswagen was the only top-10 brand with weaker car sales in France in 2017.
Toyota and Ford swapped rank positions. Although both carmakers outperformed the broader market, Toyota’s 14% increase in sales in France in 2017 was the best performance by a top brand.
Opel and Nissan swapped rank positions with strong sales by Opel giving the PSA Group a third top-ten marque in France in 2017. Even stronger sales allowed Fiat to move into the top 10 at the expense of Audi.
Mercedes-Benz moved up one position to take the lead amongst the German premium brands in France in 2017. Audi slipped from 10th to 12th while BMW maintained its position from a year ago.
DS was the worst performing brand in France in 2017 with sales down by a quarter and slipping from 15th to 19th largest car brands in France.
See also: 2017 (Full Year) France: Best-Selling Car Models – inevitably it is the Clio leading the 208 but the 3008 at third is new.
