2018 (Half Year) France: Best-Selling Car Manufacturers, Brands and Models

During the first semester of 2018, the PSA Group was France’s largest carmaker, Renault the biggest brand and the Clio the favorite car model.

January to June 2018: The PSA Group was again the largest car manufacturer in France followed by Renault and the Volkswagen Group. The best-selling car brands in France were Renault, Peugeot and Citroen while Dacia moved ahead of Volkswagen for the first time. The Renault Clio remained the favorite car model in France ahead of the Peugeot 208.

French New Car Market 2018 (First Semester)

New passenger vehicle registrations in France during the first half of 2018 increased by 4.7% to 1,188,156 cars – over 50,000 cars more than during the first six months of 2017. French brands increased market share to 58% with a 12.2% increase in sales to 694,605 cars. Imported cars lost market share with sales down by 4.4% to 493,551 cars.

Fuel Type	HY2017	% Share HY2017	HY2018	% Share HY2018
Petrol	537,783	47.37	640,370	53.9
Diesel	543,985	47.92	479,211	40.33
Hybrids	39,361	3.47	52,512	4.42
Electric	13,555	1.19	14,381	1.21

The popularity of diesel cars continued to decline in France. During the first six months of 2017, petrol and diesel cars had similar sales but the market share of diesel cars have slumped to 40% thus far in 2018 while petrol sales are up to 54%.

Electric car sales in France during the first six months of 2018 increased to 14,381 cars or a market share of 1.21% The Renault Zoe was the best-selling electric car model in France with 8,007 sales – the 33rd most popular car model in France thus far in 2018.

Best-Selling Car Manufacturers in France in 2018 (First Six Months)

New passenger vehicle registrations in France by manufacturer and brand were as follows during the first six month of 2018:

Manufacturer	HY2018	HY 2017	% Change
Total Market	1,188,156	1,135,281	4.7

FRENCH MANUFACTURERS	694,605	619,245	12.2
PSA Group	380,209	324,100	17.3
– Citroen	114,070	114,502	-0.4
– DS	13,400	11,159	20.1
– Peugeot	213,588	198,439	7.6
– Opel	39,151	40,879*	-4.2
RENAULT Group	314,267	295,093	6.5
– Renault	236,161	230,766	2.3
– Dacia	77,723	64,327	20.8

FOREIGN MANUFACTURERS	493,551	516,036	-4.4
BMW Group	43,535	43,594	-0.1
– BMW	29,766	30,655	-2.9
– Mini	13,758	12,936	6.4
DAIMLER Group	34,634	34,586	0.1
– Mercedes-Benz	31,187	30,948	0.8
– Smart	3,447	3,638	-5.3
FCA Group	57,173	47,659	20.0
– Alfa Romeo	4,816	4,601	4.7
– Fiat	44,408	37,088	19.7
– Jeep	7,451	5,433	37.1
FORD Group	46,920	49,155	-4.5
GM Group	70	40,974	-99.8
– Opel		40,879
HYUNDAI Group	42,004	34,376	22.2
– Hyundai	18,417	14,662	25.6
– Kia	23,587	19,714	19.6
NISSAN Group	34,606	40,904	-15.4
– Nissan	34,197	39,608	-13.7
TOYOTA Group	52,286	49,338	5.9
– Lexus	3,121	2,597	20.2
– Toyota	49,165	46,791	5.1
VW Group	138,150	135,200	2.2
– Audi	28,709	33,274	-13.7
– Porsche	2,462	2,671	-7.8
– Seat	15,638	13,235	18.2
– Skoda	16,227	13,334	21.7
– Volkswagen	75,061	72,624	3.4
VOLVO Group	9,034	8,592	5.1
Figures exclude “others”
*GM
Source: CCFA

Top-Selling Carmakers in France in 2018 (Half Year)

The PSA Group increased its lead as France’s biggest carmaker during the first six months of 2018. Peugeot increased sales by above market average to close the gap to Renault as France’s top-selling car brand. DS sales were up by a fifth but from a very low base while Citroen sales were flat and Opel sales still lagging behind numbers sold while still part of GM.

The Renault Group also performed stronger than the market average but France’s best-selling car brands underperformed. While Peugeot increase sales by around 15,000 Renault sales increased by less then 6,000 compared to a year ago. Dacia sales were up by a fifth to overtake Volkswagen brand sales in France for the first time.

The Volkswagen Group remained the largest import carmaker in France during the first half year 2018 but underperformed the broader market. Skoda and Seat increased sales by around a fifth but Volkswagen brand sales increased below market average in France. Sales of high-earning Audi were sharply down.

Sales of the FCA Group in France during the first six months of 2018 were up by a fifth to leapfrog both Ford and Toyota. Sales of Fiats increased by a fifth while Jeep was the best-performing brand in France thus far in 2018.

Toyota sales in France increased by 6% with Lexus brand sales up by a fifth and Toyota sales up just more than market average. Ford sales were down by 4.5%.

The BMW Group had weaker sales in France during the first half of 2018 with BMW brand sales down 3% while Mini sales increased by 6.4%

The Hyundai Group had the strongest growth of any carmaker in France thus far in 2018 with sales of Hyundai branded cars up by a quarter and Kia branded cars by a fifth. The South Korean group overtook both Daimler and Nissan in France.

The Daimler Group overtook Nissan in France in 2018 with sales ahead by only 28 cars. Mercedes-Benz sales were flat while Smart sales were weaker. Nissan sales were down by 15% – no other car manufacturer performed worse thus far in 2018 in France.

Volvo sales increased by 5% in France thus far in 2018.

GM is still included in statistics mostly as Opel numbers were still listed under GM until August 2017.

Best-Selling Car Brands in France in 2018 (Fist Semester)

The top-selling car brands in France during the first half of 2018 were as follows according to the CCFA:

	Manufacturer	HY2018	HY 2017	% Change
1	– Renault	236,161	230,766	2.3
2	– Peugeot	213,588	198,439	7.6
3	– Citroen	114,070	114,502	-0.4
4	– Dacia	77,723	64,327	20.8
5	– Volkswagen	75,061	72,624	3.4
6	– Toyota	49,165	46,791	5.1
7	– Ford	46,920	49,155	-4.5
8	– Fiat	44,408	37,088	19.7
9	– Opel	39,151	40,879	-4.2
10	– Nissan	34,197	39,608	-13.7
11	– Mercedes-Benz	31,187	30,948	0.8
12	– BMW	29,766	30,655	-2.9
13	– Audi	28,709	33,274	-13.7
14	– Kia	23,587	19,714	19.6
15	– Hyundai	18,417	14,662	25.6
16	– Skoda	16,227	13,334	21.7
17	– Seat	15,638	13,235	18.2
18	– Mini	13,758	12,936	6.4
19	– DS	13,400	11,159	20.1
20	– Volvo	9,034	8,592	5.1
21	– Jeep	7,451	5,433	37.1
22	– Alfa Romeo	4,816	4,601	4.7
23	– Smart	3,447	3,638	-5.3
24	– Lexus	3,121	2,597	20.2
25	– Porsche	2,462	2,671	-7.8
	Figures exclude “others” & manufacturers selling fewer than 2,500 cars
	Source: CCFA

Top Car Brands in France in 2018 (Half Year)

Renault, Peugeot and Citroen remained the top three best-selling car brands in France during the first six months of 2018. Only Peugeot increased sales above market average.

Dacia was the most improved of the top car brands in France during the first half of 2018 to move ahead of Volkswagen for the first time ever. Toyota and Ford swapped rank positions.

A strong performance by Fiat allowed the Italian brand to pass both Opel and Nissan.

Mercedes-Benz and BMW both overtook Audi mostly due to a very weak performance by Audi. Audi and Nissan were the worst performing top brands in France thus far in 2018.

Most other brands had strong sales in France during the first half of 2018. The only other rank position changes were Lexus outselling Porsche.

Best-Selling Car Models in France in 2018 (First Semester)

The ten top-selling car models in France during the first half of 2018 according to the CCFA were:

	Model	Sold HY2018	Sold HY2017	Sold HY2016
1	Renault Clio IV	70,040	64,408	62,206
2	Peugeot 208	56,272	54,811	54,056
3	Peugeot 3008 II	46,737	37,197	New
4	Citroen C3 III	40,989	36,341	31,092
5	Renault Captur	40,033	37,479	41,727
6	Dacia Sandero	37,643	33,653	31,407
7	Peugeot 2008	36,971	38,705	37,094
8	Peugeot 308 II	35,474	37,860	44,000
9	Renault Twingo III	25,970	20,411	22,908
10	Renault Mégane IV	25,822	28,847	21,801
	Source: CCFA

Top Ten Best-Selling Car Models in France in 2018 (Half Year)

The Renault Clio and Peugeot 208 were again the favorite car models of the French during the first half of 2018. Renault continued to increase sales volume at a faster pace. Both car models are due for an update towards the end of the year.

The Peugeot 3008 improved from 6th to 3rd while the Citroen C3 improved from 7th to 4th. The Renault Captur maintained 5th place.

The Dacia Sandero improved from 8th to 6th. The Peugeot 2008 slipped from 3rd to 7th while the Peugeot 308 slipped from 4th to 8th.

The Renault Twingo re-entered the top ten list from 11th a year ago while the Renault Mégane slipped from 9th to 10th. The Dacia Duster narrowly missed out on a top ten listing.

The only car falling out of the top ten from a year ago was the Volkswagen Polo that slipped from 10th to 13th despite sales volume remaining basically unchanged. The VW Polo remained the favorite imported car in France during the first half of 2018.