France 1-26 August 2013: Citroen C4 Picasso in shape

Citroen C4 Picasso

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

After a summer holiday hiatus (the last update was in early July), we return to our intermediate data for France, now covering the first 26 days of August just before I can share with you full August data. Whereas in July the French new car market was back into positive (just), this month it’s back to hell: down 11% year-on-year to 58,150 registrations and analysts predict a full month down 15% on August 2012, which was already the weakest monthly total and first time below 100,000 units since June 1997 when 93,171 new vehicles were registered, and the worst August score since 1976…

Renault Captur

The Peugeot 208 is in pole position so far with 2,866 sales and 4.9% vs. 2,622 and 4.5% for the Renault Clio IV, but knowing Renault’s sales are always back-loaded, the Clio should finish the month at #1. Excellent hold of the Dacia Sandero, up 80% year-on-year to #3 at 2,255 units and 3.9% while the Renault Scenic is boosted by its facelift, up 77% to #4 with 2,144 sales and 3.7%. The Citroen C4 Picasso is back to levels it had not experienced in years, up to #5 with 1,530 sales and 2.6%, although this figure may include both generations of the model. Finally the Renault Captur ranks #7 at 1,393 units and 2.3%, and should lodge a third consecutive month inside the Top 5 while the Peugeot 2008 is out of the Top 10 for now.

Previous post: France 2003-2013 dealership evolution: French down, foreign up

Previous month: France July 2013: Dacia Sandero on podium, Renault Captur #5

One year ago: France 1-27 August 2012: Dacia Lodgy confirms Top 10 spot

Full 1-26 August 2013 Top 10 models and brands Ranking Tables below.