In 2019, the new car market in France expanded by 2% to just over 2.2 million passenger vehicles. Electric car sales were up, diesels were down.
In 2019 (full year), new passenger vehicle registrations in France increased by 2.2% to 2,214,279 cars – the highest total car sales in France since 2010. French car manufacturers took a 56.8% share of the new car market. Diesel sales declined to only 34% of the new car market in France while 2% of cars sold in France in 2019 were electric. The PSA Group was the top-selling manufacturer in France in 2019, Renault the best-selling brand, and the Peugeot 208 and Renault Clio the favorite car models of the French in 2019.
Latest French Car Sales Statistics — 2023: Market Overview, Brands, Models; 2022, 2021, 2020.
New Vehicle Market in France 2019 Overview
In 2019, light vehicle registrations in France increased by 2.3% to 2,683,977 vehicles according to car sales statistics released by the CCFA. This number includes:
- 2,214,279 (+1.9%) passenger vehicles (voitures particulières), and
- 479,698 (+4.5%) light commercial vehicles (vehicules utilitaires legers / less than 5.1 t).
Heavy commercial vehicles (vehicules industriels / 5.1 t plus) sales increased by 1.9% to 55,308 vehicles.
Used car registrations in France in 2019 increased by a similar 2.8% to 5,790,611 vehicles.
New passenger car sales in France increased by 2.3% to 2,693,977 vehicles in 2019. If adjusted for the number of sales days – 251 in 2019 vs 252 in 2018 – the increase was an even stronger 2.7%.
The French new car market was yoyoing all year with the total market still negative (-0.2%) during the first 11 months of 2019. However, the French new passenger vehicle registrations in December 2019 were up by nearly a quarter. Although sales in December 2018 were very low, the December 2019 numbers were still significantly up compared to sales in recent years. The market was probably helped by French transportation strikes that made private transportation almost essential in some parts of the country.
Passenger Car Sales in France by Year (2009-2019)
In 2019, total new passenger car registrations in France expanded for the sixth consecutive year and were above 2 million vehicles for the fourth consecutive year. The French new car market in 2019 reached its highest level since 2010.
New passenger vehicle registrations in France were as follows in recent years:
| Year | Sales | % Change |
| 2019 | 2,214,279 | 1.9 |
| 2018 | 2,173,481 | 3 |
| 2017 | 2,110,751 | 4.7 |
| 2016 | 2,015,186 | 5.1 |
| 2015 | 1,917,230 | 6.8 |
| 2014 | 1,795,913 | 0.3 |
| 2013 | 1,790,473 | -5.7 |
| 2012 | 1,898,872 | -13.9 |
| 2011 | 2,204,229 | -2.1 |
| 2010 | 2,251,669 | 2.2 |
| 2009 | 2,302,398 | |
| Source: CCFA |
France New Car Sales in 2019: Market Analysis
The French new passenger vehicle market grew by 1.9% in 2019 to 2,214,279 cars. The increase for foreign vehicles were slightly higher than for domestic brands.
French groups (PSA & Renault) sold 1,257,843 cars (+0.9%) in France in 2019 for a market share of 56.8%. Sales of foreign manufacturers increased by 3.2% to 956,436 cars for a 43.2% share of the French new car market.
The share of diesel engines continued to decline in France in 2019 with diesel only used by just over a third of new cars registered for the first time in 2019. In 2014, diesel cars had a 64% market share in France. Battery electric car sales increased by 38% but market share remains below 2%.
Car sales by main types of energy in France in 2019 were as follows:
| Engine | 2019 | % | 2018 | % |
| Petrol (essence) | 1,281,802 | 57.9 | 1,188,170 | 54.7 |
| Diesel | 755,579 | 34.1 | 844,830 | 38.9 |
| Hybrids | 125,432 | 5.7 | 106,369 | 4.9 |
| Electric | 42,764 | 1.9 | 31,059 | 1.4 |
The most popular body type for cars in France in 2019 remains sedans and hatchbacks (berline) with 49% market share (50% in 2018) followed by SUVs with 38% (36% in 2018).
In 2019, the PSA Group was the top-selling car manufacturer in France, Renault the best-selling car brand and the Peugeot 208 (or actually the Renault Clio) the favorite car model.
Latest French Car Sales Statistics — 2023: Market Overview, Brands, Models; 2022, 2021, 2020.
