2019 (Full Year) France: Top 30 Best-Selling Car Models

In full-year 2019, the Renault Clio and Peugeot 208 were again the best-selling car models in France despite model changes during the year.

The Peugeot 208 was the best-selling car model in France in 2019

Although the Peugeot 208 topped the car sales statistics of the best-selling car models in France in 2019, the Renault Clio remained by far the top-selling car name and the clear favorite car of the French. The top-ten best-selling car models in France in 2019 were the same names as a year ago but the rank order differed. The Toyota Yaris was the favorite imported car model in France in 2019 and the Renault Zoe the best-selling electric car model.

Latest French Car Sales Statistics — 2023: Market Overview, Brands, Models; 2022, 2021, 2020.

Top 30 Best-Selling Car Models in France in 2019 (Full Year)

The 30 top-selling car models in France in 2019 according to the CCFA were:

Car Brand and ModelSales 2019
1PEUGEOT 20887 285
2CITROEN C3 III80 757
3RENAULT CLIO IV80 079
4PEUGEOT 3008 II72 940
5DACIA SANDERO69 343
6RENAULT CAPTUR64 050
7PEUGEOT 200859 218
8PEUGEOT 308 II56 435
9RENAULT CLIO V51 428
10RENAULT TWINGOIII50 724
11DACIA DUSTER 248 957
12CITROEN C3 AIRCR.46 946
13RENAULT MEGANE IV44 212
14TOYOTA YARIS41 789
15VOLKSWAGEN POLO VI38 941
16CITROEN C5 AIRCR.34 698
17RENAULT KADJAR28 982
18PEUGEOT 5008 II28 669
19OPEL CORSA27 698
20FORD FIESTAVII24 082
21VOLKSWAGEN GOLF VII22 395
22VOLKSWAGEN T-ROC22 325
23FIAT 50021 955
24VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN II21 799
25PEUGEOT 10821 588
26CITROEN C4 CACTUS20 905
27RENAULT SCENIC IV20 306
28NISSAN QASHQAI 220 053
29MERCEDES CLASSE A20 051
30RENAULT ZOE18 817
Source: CCFA

French car statistics list car models by the specific model rather than simply the model name. As a result, the Peugeot 208 was the most sold car in France in 2019. However, the updated Peugeot 208 II that entered the market only during the year was also the 32nd most popular car model in 2019.

More significantly, the Renault Clio was the third and ninth best-selling car models in France in 2019 representing the outgoing Clio IV and incoming Clio V. Combined, the Renault Clio remained by far the most-popular car model in France in 2019.

During 2019, the Toyota Yaris replaced the Volkswagen Polo as the most-popular imported car model in France.

The top-selling electric car in France was the Renault Zoe – it was also the 30th most-popular car model overall in France in 2019.

Top-Ten Best-Selling Car Model Names in France in 2019

Combining the older and newer version of model names of which new cars were launched in 2019, the top ten most-popular car model names in France in 2019 were as follows:

Car Make & ModelSold 2019Sold 2018Sold 2017Sold 2016
1Renault Clio IV + V131,507123,658117,541112,152
2Peugeot 208 I+ II105,589102,39597,66397,830
3Citroen C3 III80,75777,93767,27651,843
4Peugeot 3008 II72,94084,83474,297–
5Renault Captur I + II70,65567,39668,77370,769
6Dacia Sandero69,34370,07761,48156,199
7Peugeot 200859,21866,28467,97965,986
8Peugeot 308 II56,43563,21866,16375,509
9Renault Twingo III50,72446,37239,02240,793
10Dacia Duster48,95746,93137,04236,428
Source: CCFA––––

Ten Favorite Car Models of the French in 2019

The Renault Clio was again the best selling car model name in 2019

The Renault Clio and the Peugeot 208 remained the two most-popular car models in France in 2019 – as they’ve been since 2013, the first full year that the Peugeot 208 was on the market. New versions for both models were introduced during 2019. Both model names sold at higher numbers than a year ago with the Renault Clio remaining the clear favorite car of the French.

Sales of the Citroen C3 similarly increased in 2019 to take third place from the Peugeot 3008 that had weaker sales.

The Renault Captur also underwent a model change and both old and new versions combined allowed the Captur to capture fifth place from the Dacia Sandero.

The Peugeot 2008 and Peugeot 308 maintained their rank positions from a year ago despite both cars selling in lower numbers.

After four consecutive years at number 10, the Renault Twingo moved to ninth at the expense of the Dacia Duster. The Dacia Duster remained the best-selling SUV in France in 2019.

There were no new entrants on the top ten list of best-selling car models in France in 2019.

The best-selling car manufacturer in France in 2019 was the PSA Group while Renault was the top-selling car brand. The French new car market in 2019 expanded by 1.9% to 2,214,279 cars – the highest level since 2010.

Latest French Car Sales Statistics — 2023: Market Overview, Brands, Models; 2022, 2021, 2020.

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.