France 6 months 2013: Renault Clio IV & Peugeot 208 land on top

The Renault Clio IV-Peugeot 208 duel has well and truly started in France…

* See the Top 100 best-selling models and Top 15 brands by clicking on the title! *

Still a pretty grim outlook for the French new car market, after losing 14% at the same time last year, it is down a further 11% halfway through 2013 to fall below 1 million units for the first time since 1993 at just 930,320 sales. While it looks like the top of the models ranking is completely reshuffled, in actual fact it’s the traditional Renault and Peugeot superminis that control the sales charts. The Renault Clio IV launched in September last year so is all-new for this ranking and shoots up directly to pole position thanks to 55,887 sales and 6% share. It ranked #1 4 out of 6 months this year and looks set to become France’s best-seller for the first time at year-end in 2013, the 15th time for the Clio nameplate. The Peugeot 208 is up 163% to #2 at 51,640 units and 5.6% which is pretty close given the fact that it only topped the ranking twice so far in 2013: in January and May,. If we add up the last 2 generations of Clio we arrive at 67,438 sales (+15%) vs. 67,046 (+19%) for the 207/208 couple. Once again very tight whichever way you look at it.

The Renault Scenic is down 20% but up 2 spots to #3…

18 of the next 22 models lose ground year-on-year! Like in 2012 it’s an absolute bloodshed with quite significant drops, which indicates a further fragmentation of the French market. At the same time last year there were 5 models above 3% share, now only the Clio IV and 208 manage that feat… The Renault Scenic gains 2 spots #3 even though it drops by 20% to 27,045 sales and 2.9%, the Renault Megane is down a very painful 32% to #4 while the Citroen C3, handicapped by strikes at its Aulnay factory, crumbles down 35% to #5. The Peugeot 3008 is up one spot to #6 thanks to sales down ‘just’ 14% while the Citroen C4 is up 4 to #7 and declines less than the market at -4%. The VW Polo is the only foreigner in the Top 10 at #9 but the VW Golf VII lands directly at #11 with 17,909 units.

The Nissan Qashqai is the 2nd Japanese model to ever break into the monthly French Top 10…

Apart from the two leaders, the Dacia Sandero is the only Top 10 model to gain ground year-on-year, up 33% to #10 with 19,749 sales and 2.1%. There are two more in the Top 20: the Nissan Qashqai up 1% and 3 spots to #13 and historically breaking into the monthly Top 10 in March and May, and the Toyota Yaris (the only other Japanese to have had a stint in the French Top 10) up 21% and 10 ranks to #15. Notice also the Nissan Juke up 3 to #23, Fiat 500 up 5 to #28, Mercedes A-Class up 44 spots and 108% to #29, Audi A3 up 21 ranks and 30% to #33, Dacia Lodgy up 76% to #34 and the BMW 3 Series up 22 ranks and 32% to #35.

The Renault Captur is up to #4 in June!

The Renault-Peugeot supermini battle is now replicated in the small SUV segment, with the Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008 launched virtually at the same time over the period. The Captur leads for now at #25 with 11,272 sales but is already #4 in June while the Peugeot 2008 appears at #36 with 6,471 units but up to #11 in June… I would not be surprised to see both the Captur and 2008 inside the Top 5 over the second half of the year, which could with a bit of luck earn them both a spot in the Full Year 2013 Top 10… There are 6 additional all-new models inside the French Top 100: the Ford B-Max at #39, Fiat 500L at #49, Opel Mokka at #69, Renault Zoe at #70, Citroen C4 Picasso II at #77 and Opel Adam at #100.

Dacia is now the #5 brand in France with just under 5% share vs. #7 and 4% one year ago.

Brand-wise, the Top 4 is unchanged but all brands lose at least as much as the market: Renault is down 12% to 18.8% share, Peugeot is down 11% to 16.2%, Citroen down 17% to 13.3% and Volkswagen down 12% to 8%. Dacia excels: at +9% it gains 2 spots to land at #5, passing Ford (#6 at -23%) and Opel (#9 at -22%). Toyota is up 5% to #7, Fiat up 9% to #11, Mercedes up 1% to #12, Kia up 2% to #14 and Hyundai up 1% to #15.

Previous weekly post: France 1-9 July 2013: Citroen C3 back up to 2nd place

Previous monthly post: France June 2013: Renault Captur up to #4, Peugeot 2008 #11

One year ago: France 6 months 2012: Bloodshed among the Top 15 models

Full 6 months 2013 Top 100 models and Top 15 brands Ranking Tables below.