Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

The Renault 4CV was #1 in France from 1949 to 1955

* See the direct links to 49 French Historical Data articles by clicking on the title! *

Thanks to the formidable support of STAC and Rene I have uploaded much more detail on France Historical Data. You can now check out the sales of absolutely every single model in France from 1984 to 1993 (used to be a Top 20 only) with Top 100 featured within the article and scans of French magazine L’Argus for all model sales.

I now also have a rare Top 20 including imports for 1966 and 1967, and from 1994 onwards it’s a full Top 100 at least for each year except 2000-2002. You can also check out every monthly Top 10 ranking from January 1982 to to December 1993 and from June 2004 onwards! .

5.1 million were produced, but the Citroen 2CV never topped the models ranking in France…

Since 1949 it’s either a Renault or a Peugeot that topped the models ranking in France, except for 3 times: the Simca Aronde was #1 in 1956, the Citroen Ami 6 was the only Citroen in the last 60 years to hold the top spot in the country in 1966 (no, not the 2CV nor the DS) and the Simca 1100 ranked #1 in 1972.

The Peugeot 203 ranked #2 in France in 1950

While it’s aiming at the top spot in 2013 with the 208, Peugeot had 4 cars reigning over the French models ranking, starting in 1969 with the 204, followed by the 205 in 1984, 1985, 1990 and 1991, the 206 in 2001 & 2004 and the 207 from 2007 to 2010.

The Renault 4 is the most popular French car ever and ranked first 6 times between 1962 and 1968

Renault has been the most successful brand in France over the last 60 years, starting with the 4CV in 1949, the Dauphine in 1957, the Renault 4 in 1962, the Renault 12 in 1973, Renault 5 in 1974, Supercinq in 1986, Clio in 1992 and the Megane in 1997 (the year indicates the start of their stint at #1). The Clio is the nameplate that has stayed #1 for the longest: 13 times between 1992 and 2011!

With Germany and the UK, France is the country with the most amount of information on Best Selling Cars Blog however there are still a few holes: if you have any sales data pre-dating 1949, or any models info from 1970 to 1979 please ensure you get in touch by commenting on this article!

Direct links to 49 French Historical Data articles below.

France 1949-2012 Historical Data

NOTE: There is a table listing the French best-sellers for each year at the bottom of the article after all the links.

France 1949: Renault 4CV ramps up

France 1950: Renault 4CV and Citroen Traction Avant shine

France 1951-1955: Renault 4CV king of the roads

France 1956: Simca Aronde takes the lead

France 1957-1960: Renault Dauphine reigns

France 1961: Renault Dauphine and Citroen 2CV on top, R4 launches

France 1962-1965: Renault 4L takes control

France 1966: Citroen Ami 6 snaps up top spot

France 1967: Renault 4 reclaims leadership

France 1968: Renault 4 and Peugeot 204 in the lead

France 1969-1971: Peugeot 204 dominates

France 1972: Simca 1100 best-seller

France 1973: Renault 12 in pole position

France 1974-1976: Renault 5 in command, Citroen 2CV shines

France 1977-1978: Renault 5 stays on top, Peugeot 104 strong

France 1979: Renault 5, 18 and Peugeot 305 on podium

France 1980: Renault 5 hits highest share at 16%

France 1981: Renault 5 and 18 strong, Peugeot 104 on podium

France 1982: New Renault 9 shakes models ranking

France 1983: Renault 5 celebrates 10 years in first place

France 1984: Peugeot 205 takes the relay

France 1985: Peugeot 205 at its highest, Renault Supercinq arrives

France 1986: Renault Supercinq edges out Peugeot 205

France 1987: Renault Supercinq and Peugeot 205 fight it out

France 1988: Renault Supercinq and Peugoeot 205 at highest volumes

France 1989: Last year of reign for the Renault Supercinq

France 1990: Peugeot 205 reclaims top spot, Renault Clio arrives

France 1991: Peugeot 205 keeps Renault Clio at bay

France 1992: The Renault Clio starts its reign

France 1993: Renault Clio miles away from the competition

France 1994: Renault Clio leads, Peugeot 306 and 106 on podium

France 1995: Renault Clio #1, Twingo gets better

France 1996: Renault Clio softer, Megane already #2

France 1997: Renault Megane snaps up pole position!

France 1998: Renault Clio reclaims top spot

France 1999: The Renault Clio/Peugeot 206 match has started

France 2000: Renault Clio winner ahead of 206 and Scenic

France 2001: Peugeot 206 leads with 211,000 sales

France 2002: Renault Clio edges Peugeot 206 out, 307 above 7%

France 2003: Renault Clio, Peugeot 206 & 307 leading again

France 2004: Peugeot 206 passes Renault Clio, Modus off to a great start

France 2005: Renault Scenic #1 in First Half, Clio leader in Full Year

France 2006: Renault Clio III #1, Peugeot 207 gearing up

France 2007: Peugeot 207 #1, Citroen C4 Picasso #4, Toyota Yaris & Dacia Logan at best-ever

France 2008: Peugeot 207 #1, 308 #3

France 2009: Peugeot 207 #1, Renault Twingo #3 

France 2010: Peugeot 207 #1 for the 4th consecutive year 

France 2011: Renault Clio #1, a Citroen on podium for the first time since 1985!

France 2012: Last hurrah for the Renault Clio III, no car above 100,000 sales for the first time since 1952

Click on the year or the best-seller to access the full article (Note before 1978 some years are grouped into one article so you may link to the same article more than once).

Year	France Best-seller	Sales	Share
1949	Renault 4CV	n/a	n/a
1950	Renault 4CV	50,291	28.9%
1951	Renault 4CV	n/a	n/a
1952	Renault 4CV	n/a	n/a
1953	Renault 4CV	n/a	n/a
1954	Renault 4CV	n/a	n/a
1955	Renault 4CV	n/a	n/a
1956	Simca Aronde	n/a	n/a
1957	Renault Dauphine	n/a	n/a
1958	Renault Dauphine (p)	280,000	30.9%
1959	Renault Dauphine (p)	395,000	38.3%
1960	Renault Dauphine (p)	382,000	36.1%
1961	Renault Dauphine (p)	267,000	36.1%
1962	Renault 4L (p)	197,000	15.5%
1963	Renault 4L (p)	233,000	15.9%
1964	Renault 4L	n/a	n/a
1965	Renault 4L (p)	182,000	12.8%
1966	Citroen Ami 6	162,000	n/a
1967	Renault 4	177,950	14.5%
1968	Renault 4	174,000	13.4%
1969	Peugeot 204	150,000	11.0%
1970	Peugeot 204	n/a	n/a
1971	Peugeot 204	n/a	n/a
1972	Simca 1100	n/a	n/a
1973	Renault 12	n/a	n/a
1974	Renault 5	154,000	11.0%
1975	Renault 5	151,200	10.2%
1976	Renault 5	165,382	8.9%
1977	Renault 5	n/a	10.1%
1978	Renault 5	n/a	10.0%
1979	Renault 5	n/a	10.8%
1980	Renault 5	299,712	16.0%
1981	Renault 5	282,486	15.4%
1982	Renault 5	265,748	12.9%
1983	Renault 5	211,094	10.5%
1984	Peugeot 205	171,702	9.8%
1985	Peugeot 205	226,974	12.9%
1986	Renault Supercinq	219,570	11.5%
1987	Renault Supercinq	239,660	11.4%
1988	Renault Supercinq	241,653	10.9%
1989	Renault Supercinq	236,929	10.4%
1990	Peugeot 205	229,044	9.9%
1991	Peugeot 205	200,781	9.9%
1992	Renault Clio	233,209	11.1%
1993	Renault Clio	172,881	10.0%
1994	Renault Clio	194,034	9.8%
1995	Renault Clio	170,269	8.8%
1996	Renault Clio	163,396	7.7%
1997	Renault Megane	143,821	8.4%
1998	Renault Clio	166,937	8.6%
1999	Renault Clio	180,302	8.4%
2000	Renault Clio	187,660	8.8%
2001	Peugeot 206	211,220	9.4%
2002	Renault Clio	188,210	8.8%
2003	Renault Clio	162,979	8.1%
2004	Peugeot 206	151,250	7.5%
2005	Renault Clio	132,382	6.4%
2006	Renault Clio	134,001	6.7%
2007	Peugeot 207	131,623	6.4%
2008	Peugeot 207	136,283	6.6%
2009	Peugeot 207	131,333	5.8%
2010	Peugeot 207	126,854	5.6%
2011	Renault Clio	123,827	5.6%

(p): production figure

Source: Wikipedia, L’Auto Journal, Auto Plus, L’Argus. Many thanks to STAC and Vavon!