Best Selling Cars – Matt's blog

Peugeot 308

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

New car sales are down 6% year-on-year in France over the first 12 days of February, with Peugeot still holding the brands pole position thanks to 7,866 sales (-7%) ahead of Renault at 6,633 (+27%), Citroen at 6,595 (-4%), Volkswagen at 4,186 (-19%) and Dacia at 3,135 (+4%). The Peugeot 208 keeps the Renault Clio IV at bay for now and even increases its advantage compared to last week at 2,202 sales vs. 2,015, while the Citroen C3 reclaims its traditional third spot thanks to 1,566 units, kicking the Peugeot 308 down to a still very impressive 4th place, with the Citroen C4 Picasso rounding up the Top 5. Notice also the Dacia Duster #9 and the Peugeot 2008 #10.

Previous post: France 1-6 February 2014: Peugeot 308 on podium

One year ago: France 1-11 February 2013: Peugeot 208, VW Polo and Golf on podium

Full 1-12 February 2014 Top 10 models and brands Ranking Tables below.

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Peugeot 308

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

The French new car market is up by a shy 0.5% year-on-year over the first 6 days of February, and while the Peugeot 208 leads the way in spite of sales down 30% compared to the same period last year to 1,088 units, the Renault Clio IV is uncharacteristically already up to #2 with 1,001 sales, 43% better than last year, whereas Renault sales are traditionally skewed towards the end of the month. The new generation Peugeot 308 breaks into the podium for the very first time at #3 with 855 units, followed by the VW Golf and Citroen C4 Picasso (+79%). There are two Dacias in the Top 9 over the period: the Sandero at #8 and the Duster at #9. Finally, notice the Peugeot 2008 pointing its bonnet at #10 and 589 sales.

Previous post: France Full Year 2013: Private sales under 1 million for the first time since 2000

Previous month: France January 2014: Peugeot 208 #1 for the first time since last May, Top 13 100% French!

One year ago:  France 1-11 February 2013: Peugeot 208, VW Polo and Golf on podium

Full 1-6 February 2014 Top 10 models and brands Ranking Tables below.

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Dacia is particularly successful with private buyers in France

* See the France Full Year 2013 Report here! *

A last quick update on the French market over the Full Year 2013 to share with you the fact that for the first time since 2000, less than one million new cars were bought by private buyers in France this year. Private registrations are down 8% year-on-year to 960,175, dragging the overall market down 6% overall, a decline that is only 2% when we discard private sales. This means the private sales/overall market ratio is down from 56% in 2012 to 53.6% this year…

Reversely, tactical sales have progressed in France this year. In particular, demo vehicles are up 1.5% to 230,861 registrations, bringing their share of the overall market from 12% to almost 13% this year. Similarly, long term lease are down 4.7% and see their share go from 7.2 to 7.3%. Surprisingly, short-term rentals slip down faster than the overall market at -11.6% and see their share go from 9.6% to 9%.

Full article and source below.

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Peugeot 208

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

After starting the month on a very negative note (-18% at the halfway mark), the French new car market recovers in the last week to post a 0.5% year-on-year increase to 125,477 registrations. For the first time since last May, the Peugeot 208 is the best-selling model at home in France thanks to 7,038 sales and 5.6%, catching up on an exceptionally weak month of December that saw it dive to #3. The Renault Clio IV, leader over the Full Year 2013, is kicked down to #2 at 6,579 units and 5.2% while the Citroen C3 lodges another very strong month with 5,120 sales and 4.1%, its highest market share at home since March 2011 when it reached an all-time high 4.9%.

The Citroen C3 hits its highest market share in 3 years.

For its part the Dacia Sandero manages to rank inside the Top 4 for the 4th time in the last 9 months at #4 with 4,868 units and an excellent 3.9% market share, the highest for this generation so far. It passes the Renault Captur down to #5 with 4,469 sales and 3.6%, the small SUV’s 8th consecutive month inside the French Top 5 – no interruption since last June! Its archenemy the Peugeot 2008 remains 7th and improves its market share vs. December to 2.8% thanks to 3,453 sales. The Citroen C4 Picasso II is above the Renault Scenic for the 2nd time in the last 4 months at 3,189 sales and 2.5% while the Renault Megane reintegrates the Top 10 at #10, above the Peugeot 308 II at #12.

The Toyota Auris beats it ranking record this month in France at #26.

It’s an exceptional month for nationals in France: in January the entire Top 13 best-sellers are French, with the first foreign model being the VW Golf VII at #14 with 2.2% share. Now I have looked through my archives through and through and I cannot find a month when this situation happened in the last 10 years, the closest I could fine was April 2006 when the #1 foreigner was the Ford Fiesta at #13… That gives you an idea of how exceptional this month is (this is by counting Dacia as French). Other great performers in January include the Fiat 500 up to #19 vs. #28 over the Full Year 2013, the Toyota Auris breaking its monthly ranking record anew at #26 with just under 1% share and the Audi A3 up a further 5 spots on December to #28.

The Mokka is the best-selling Opel in France for the first time this month.

Further down, notice the Opel Mokka up to a record-breaking 33rd position and the brand’s best-seller in the country for the first time, the Chevrolet Spark up 38 ranks to #42, the Dacia Logan MCV II making its first appearance in the ranking at #47, the Renault Koleos up 37 to #50, Nissan Micra up 47 to #51, Kia Rio up 18 to #52, Citroen C4 Aircross up 33 to #54 and the Suzuki SX4 S-Cross breaking into the Top 100 for the first time at #81.

Previous post: France 1-22 January 2014: Dacia Sandero up to #2

Full Year 2013 report: France Full Year 2013: Renault Clio IV marks 15 years of Clio #1

Previous month: France December 2013: Citroen C3 above Peugeot 208 for the first time

One year ago: France January 2013: Mercedes A Class and Opel Mokka impress

Full January 2014 Top 100 models Ranking Table below.

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Peugeot Boxer

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

Harsh start of the year for Light Commercial Vehicle sales in France: down 8% in January 2014 compared to January 2013 to 27,388 registrations. The Renault Kangoo remains the Boss at 2,492 units and 9.1% and is followed this month by the Citroen Berlingo at 6.4% and the Renault Master at 6%. Excellent performances of the Peugeot Partner up to #4 and 5.8% vs. #6 and 4.8% over the Full Year 2013, of the Peugeot 208 at #5 and 5.7% and the Peugeot Boxer up to #10 and 2.9%. Further down, notice the Ford Transit Custom up to #15 vs. #23 in 2013, the Toyota Hilux at #24 vs. #33, Ford Transit Connect at #33 vs. #49, the Peugeot 308 II making its first appearance inside the Top 50 at #42, the Peugeot 2008 at #62 and the Renault Captur at #74.

Full Year 2013 report: France LCV Full Year 2013: Renault Kangoo and Master on top

Previous month: France LCV December 2013: Renault Kangoo just under 13% share

One year ago: France LCV January 2013: Dacia Dokker lands at #39

Full January 2014 Top 100 models Ranking Table below.

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Dacia Sandero

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

Down a harsh 18% halfway through the month, the French new car market is now -9% year-on-year after 22 days in January. The Peugeot 208 holds onto the top spot (for now?) at 3,580 sales (-14%) while the Dacia Sandero is up by a spectacular 27% year-on-year to rank #2 with 3,320 sales. The Citroen C3 is up 14%, keeping the Renault Clio IV away from the podium still. Excellent performance of the Peugeot 2008 already #5, followed closely by the Renault Captur while the Peugeot 308 II is back above the VW Golf VII. Brand-wise, Peugeot (+2%) keeps the lead for now ahead of Citroen (stable) and Renault (-18%), Dacia is up 6% at #5 and Toyota up a splendid 27% to #6.

Previous post: France 1-15 January 2014: Market plunges by 18% year-on-year

Previous month: France December 2013: Citroen C3 above Peugeot 208 for the first time

One year ago: France 1-21 January 2013: Dacia Sandero up to #4

Full 1-22 January 2014 Top 10 models and brands Ranking Tables below.

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The Peugeot 3008 is back inside the French Top 10 thanks to its facelift.

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

The first 2014 car sales figures are here, and we start with France at mid-January. It’s a very bad start of the year for the French new car market, down a harsh 18% on the same period in 2013. This is the result of a large volume of sales being brought forward to last December in order to benefit from particularly enticing 2013 promotions, but also in anticipation of a tax rate hike due early this year. Brand-wise, Peugeot is in the lead with sales down just 5% and placing 4 models inside the Top 10 vs. just one for Renault, down 34% to #3 below Citroen (-9%). Nissan is back up to #7, Audi up to #8 vs. #10 over the Full Year 2013 and BMW up to #10 vs. #13.

The Citroen C4 Picasso II is up to #4 so far in January in France.

The Peugeot 208 is the best-selling model in the country for now but is down 22% to 2,100 sales, it is followed by the Citroen C3 brilliantly up 1% to 1,797 sales and the Dacia Sandero down 5% to climb onto the podium at #3. Excellent performance of the Citroen C4 Picasso II in 4th position with 1,155 sales, 4 more thanks the Renault Clio IV. The VW Golf VII is the most popular foreign model so far at #6, while the Peugeot 308 II reaches its highest ranking yet at #7, above the Peugeot 2008 solid at #8 and the Peugeot 3008 back inside the Top 10 at #9 thanks to its facelift.

Previous post: France Full Year 2013: Renault Clio IV marks 15 years of Clio at #1

Previous month: France December 2013: Citroen C3 above Peugeot 208 for the first time

Previous weekly post: France 1-12 December 2013: Two Volkswagens in Top 5

Full 1-15 January 2014 Top 10 models and brands Ranking Tables below.

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The Renault Clio IV wins round one of its confrontation with the Peugeot 208.

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 300 models and Top 20 brands! Thanks STAC *

* Check out over 60 years worth of French Historical Data here! *

In spite of an end of year stronger than expectations, the French new car market is down another 6% in 2013 to just 1,790,473 units, the weakest annual result in 16 years (since 1997), the 2nd lowest in the last 20 years and the 5th lowest in the last 35 years. Brand-wise, Renault stays in the lead by far and actually fares better than most: it is down just 2% to improve to 18.9% share while Peugeot is down 5% to 16.2% and Citroen down 11% to 13.3%. Below Volkswagen down 8% to 7.9% share, Renault-owned Dacia gains a fantastic 11% to 89,844 sales and a record 5% share to establish itself inside the Top Five for the first ever year. Notice also Toyota up 5% and two spots to #7 at 4% and Fiat up 9% to #11.

The Renault Captur is the big surprise of 2013. In a good way.

The big battle between the new-for-2012 Renault Clio IV and Peugeot 208 didn’t turn out to be one after all, with the Clio IV rapidly taking an unassailable advantage over the 208 which only topped the monthly charts twice (January and May). Overall, the Clio IV takes the relay from the Clio III (leader in 2011 and 2012) with 103,172 sales and 5.8% vs. 90,484 and 5.1% for the 208, a little cannibalised by the 2008 and even passed by the Citroen C3 for the first time in December. This marks the 15th year in the last 23 that a Renault Clio is the best-selling model in France, the first one being in 1991.

The Dacia Sandero hits its highest year-end ranking in France in 2013.

Before 2011, no Citroen had managed to rank inside the French podium since the BX in 1985. This year the Citroen C3 makes it to #3 for the third time in a row despite supply issues linked to strikes in its local production centre, closed since. The C3 even managed a splendid #2 spot in December for only the 2nd time in the nameplate’s 10 year-career. Below the Renault Scenic (-10%) and Megane (-29%), the Dacia Sandero makes a remarkable comeback thanks to the new model: up 56% and 12 spots to #6, its highest ever annual ranking beating the #7 it hit in 2010 and climbing onto the monthly podium twice. The VW Polo is the most popular foreigner for the 4th year running at #8 (-12%), ahead of the VW Golf VII at #12, taking it just where the previous gen left it last year. The Nissan Qashqai becomes the 2nd ever Japanese model to break into the monthly French Top 10 (twice: March and May), the other one being the Toyota the Yaris which is up 8 spots to #13 this year.

The Peugeot 2008 peaked at #4 in October and November.

But let’s not beat around the bush for too long, the big 2013 event in France (Europe?) is the exceptional success of two local mini SUVs: the Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008. The Captur finishes the year at a formidable 7th place with 39,629 sales, it broke into the monthly Top 5 in June and hasn’t left it since (7 consecutive months!), peaking at #3 and 4% share in September. Launched a tad later, the 2008 followed a similar trajectory, among the 10 most popular cars in July and stepping up to #4 and 3.2% in October. This is a new segment for both manufacturers, and this year we have witnessed the habits of French customers swerve towards this category to the relative detriment of superminis: if the Clio was relatively unaffected, the 208 seems to have suffered a little from the 2008 success. 2014 is a blank page once again for both models, which could start flirting with the monthly pole position. Very exciting times indeed.

The analysis continues below.

Previous post: France December 2013: Citroen C3 above Peugeot 208 for the first time

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

Two years ago: France Full Year 2011: Renault Clio #1, a Citroen on podium for the first time since 1985!

More analysis, Full Year 2013 Top 300 models and Top 20 brands Ranking Tables below. Read more…

Citroen C3

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 110 best-selling models and Top 18 brands! *

* The Full Year 2013 Top 300 models Report is here! *

New car sales in France are up an encouraging 10% year-on-year in December to 175,336 registrations which brings the final 2013 total to 1,790,473 units, down 6% on 2012 and the weakest annual result in 16 years since the 1,713,030 units from 1997… December results always have their lot of surprises in France as sales are heavily impacted by end-of-year promotions, and this year is no different! If the Renault Clio IV lodges another solid month at 9,513 sales and 5.4%, up a fantastic 48% on December 2012, it’s a catastrophic month for the Peugeot 208, down 29% to 6,637 units and 3.8% and passed for the very first time by the Citroen C3, in great shape at #2 with 6,743 sales and 3.8% share also. Note this is only the second time in the C3 nameplate’s 10 year career that it manages to rank #2, the other one being March 2011 when the Citroen sold a record 12,565 units for an all-time high 4.9% share.

Renault Captur

After being passed by its archenemy the Peugeot 2008 two months in a row, the Renault Captur reclaims the mini SUV lead, up to #4 with 6,238 sales and 3.6%, which means it is only 500 units off the second spot overall this month! Never before had the Captur been so close to the top of sales charts in France… For its part the Peugeot 2008 is down 3 ranks on November to #7 at 2.5% share. Another excellent month for the Dacia Sandero, up one to #5, and for the VW Polo up 3 to #6, its best ranking in France since December 2012. Notice also the Citroen C4 Picasso II holding strong at #10 just below the Renault Scenic particularly weak, and the VW Golf VII topping its category at #11, followed by the Peugeot 308 II (#13), Citroen C4 (#17) and Renault Megane (#18). But wait there are more interesting news in France this month… The analysis continues below.

Previous post: France November 2013 (final figures): Dacia Logan up to #36

Previous month: France November 2013: Peugeot 2008 confirms #4 spot above Renault Captur

One year ago: France December 2012: Dacia Sandero back in Top 10 after 2.5 years

More analysis, Full December 2013 Top 110 models and Top 18 brands Ranking Tables below.

Read more…

Renault Master

* See the Top 100 best-selling models and Top 12 brands by clicking on the title! *

New Light Commercial Vehicle sales in France are down 4% year-on-year in 2013 to 367,331 registrations, still making it the #1 LCV market in Europe. For the first time on BSCB I can share with you a French LCV brands ranking, and it clearly shows the implacable domination of Renault which grabs roughly one third of the market at 31.7% share. Interestingly, Citroen is ahead of Peugeot here at 17% vs. 16.5%, Fiat takes the 4th spot at #9 followed by Mercedes (4.9%), Ford (4.6%) and Volkswagen (4.2%). Model-wise, the Renault Kangoo easily signs its 16th consecutive year atop the sales charts thanks to 34,960 sales and 9.5% but is followed this year by the Renault Master up 17% and 2 spots on 2012 to 25,564 units and 7%. The Citroen Berlingo rounds up the podium, also up 2 ranks and 13%.

The Fiat Ducato managed what no other foreign model had before…

Even though it is down one spot and 2% over the Full Year to #4, the Fiat Ducato delivers the biggest surprise of the year: it managed to top the overall monthly ranking twice (in March and May) on the back of extremely strong sales to camping car makers. This is something no foreign model had managed before! Notice also the two passenger car superstars making their first appearance in the year-end LCV Top 10 with the commercial versions: the Peugeot 208 at #7 and Renault Clio IV at #8 but peaking at #3 in December. Interestingly, while the market as a whole is down just 4%, only 7 models inside the Top 30 actually see their sales improve year-on-year, signalling an increased fragmentation. Further down, notice the Ford Transit Custom up to #23, the Dacia Dokker disappointing at #31 and the Mercedes Citan up to #43.

Previous post: France LCV December 2013: Renault Kangoo just under 13% share

Previous year: France LCV Full Year 2012: Renault Kangoo marks 15 years on top

Two years ago: France LCV Full Year 2011: Renault Kangoo #1 for 14th year

Full Year 2013 Top 100 models and Top 12 brands Ranking Tables below.

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