Given the low registration figures, it seems that purely electric vehicle brands are still not convincing the French.
In fact, Polestar, the electrified brand linked to Volvo, did not sell any cars in France last month.
Meanwhile, Tesla saw a 34% drop in volume compared to the figures from a year ago, having registered just over 1,780 cars in July.
However, it’s not just electric vehicle sales that have fallen.
According to the French Car Manufacturers Committee (CCFA), sales of passenger cars and SUVs totalled 126,036 units in July, representing a 2.26% decrease despite a 2.18% increase in the year-to-date total, which stands at 1,040,923 vehicles.
Specifically, Renault retained its position as the best-selling car brand in France for the seventh month of the year, with 17,400 units registered, marking a 14.96% decrease compared to the previous month.
However, for the year so far, the increase is just over 1.3%, reaching 167,384 cars.
Consequently, its market share exceeds 16%, compared to 15% a year ago.
The second most popular car manufacturer among French customers is Peugeot, with a total of 16,857 registrations in July, giving it a 13.37% market share.
Compared to last year’s figures, this represents an increase of over five percentage points.
For the current year, Stellantis’ brand has lost more than 2% of its market share.
In this context, Abarth, one of Stellantis’ premium brands, is experiencing a notable resurgence in France, with 90 cars registered in July, representing a 309% increase from last year and a 689% rise in sales since January compared to 2023 figures.
In the podium of the most popular brands in France, Dacia holds steady in third place—closely followed by Toyota—which did not surpass 12,500 cars sold in July. This is a 6% increase from last year, giving it a 9.84% market share.
Since January, the company has lost 4.46% of its sales volume in the European market.
On the other hand, light commercial vehicle sales—those under five tonnes—saw a 7.92% increase in the French market compared to the same month last year, with 34,133 units registered.
Thus, in the year-to-date total for 2024, the increase is close to 10.1%, with 242,752 cars registered since January.
Overall, the sum of registrations for both passenger cars and SUVs and light commercial vehicles stood at 158,169 units in France in July, marking a 0.35% decrease compared to 2024 records. Since January, the total is 1,283,675 cars, a 3.59% increase.
