New car sales in France fell slightly in July. But what has been most striking since the beginning of this year is the spectacular recovery of both the Renault group and Stellantis, owner of the Peugeot and Citroën brands. In fact, throughout 2023, foreign auto groups were roughly on par with Renault and Stellantis, each sharing about a quarter of new car sales.
However, since the beginning of the year, Stellantis, also thanks, it should be noted, to sales from Fiat and Jeep, has consolidated its dominance of the French market with more than 37% of sales. And the Renault group, even before the arrival of the R5, is also achieving very good results with a market share of almost 31%, i.e. almost as much as all its foreign competitors.
The Sandero on the third step of the podium in France
But what car models do the French buy the most? The top three positions in the first seven months of the year (Peugeot 208, Renault Clio and Dacia Sandero) are not a surprise. In recent years, these three models have always dominated new car sales in France.
Even more surprising is the participation of Renault Group models in the top 20 best-selling cars since January: six bear the famous diamond on the grille, including the new Mégane, which only exists in an electric version and is selling better than the Tesla model. And three (Sandero, Duster 2 and Jogger) come from the group’s Romanian factories.
Dacia city car, the best-selling car in Europe
Note that this top 20 also includes the two versions of the Yaris that Toyota produces in France, so we can say that French new car buyers clearly have a nationalistic streak at the moment. At the European level, the story is obviously different. The Volkswagen group dominates ahead of Toyota and BMW.
However, there is a significant change in the ranking of the best-selling models between last year and this one. In 2023, the Tesla Model Y came first, followed by the Dacia Sandero and the Volkswagen T-Roc. And since the beginning of the year, a surprise: the Sandero has climbed to the top step of the podium ahead of the Volkswagen Golf and in third place, the Renault Clio.
Source: BFM TV
