France 1 to 9 January 2012: VW leads and places Polo #1!

The VW Polo is the only foreign model to ever hold the weekly pole position in France

* See the Top 10 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

The very first 2012 figures are coming from France as we return to weekly rankings that had been unavailable for the last 6 weeks. And what a first week of the year it is in France!! For the first time ever, a foreigner leads both brands and models rankings! In a market down 17% year-on-year at 35,485 units, Volkswagen is the best-selling brand with 5,400 units and a huge 15.2% market share, just above Citroen at 5,380 sales and Peugeot at 5,363 units, Renault being relegated in 4th place at 3,303 sales and a meagre 9.3% share…

In the models ranking, VW places 2 models on the podium: the VW Polo is the best-selling car in France this week for the first time ever with 2.056 sales and 5.8% share, up 91% year-on-year. It is the first time a foreign model takes the lead of the weekly ranking in France. The VW Golf arrives #3 at 1,688 units and 4.8%, up 71%, just behind the Peugeot 207.

The Renault Clio is only 4th even though it is up 20% year-on-year. All other models are down vs. the same week in 2011. Notice the Dacia Sandero reappearing in the Top 10 at #10 and kicking the Duster out. Now. No need to panic as this ranking is not a reflection of what 2012 has is store for us because weekly data is heavily biased by current promotions. But still, an amazing performance for VW and it will be very interesting to see how the rest of the month pans out…

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Full weekly Top 10 Ranking Table below.