France 1971: Peugeot 204 threepeats at #1, Citroen GS lands at #4, Ford Taunus #1 foreigner

The Peugeot 204 is #1 in France for the third year running.

Total Passenger Car sales (including imports) in France add up to 1,468,888 units. French brands including CV is at 1,370,014 (+13%) and with PC+LCV only at 1,288,403 (+13.7%). For the first time we have a complete brands ranking with foreigners included. Renault is the overall leader with 29.2% share, while Citroen is back above Peugeot at 20.8% vs. 19.6%. Chrysler France (ex Simca) holds onto the 4th place with 10% share. Ford CEE is the best-selling foreign carmaker with 4.9% of the French market, distancing Fiat at 4.3%, Opel at 2.6% and Volkswagen at 2.2%. Notice also Autobianchi at #11, DAF at #12, Auto-Union at #15 and Triumph at #18.

The Citroen GS ranks #4 for its first full year of sales.

Model-wise, the Peugeot 204 (+1.9%) threepeats at #1 but falls to 7.9% share. Only 4,000 sales below is the Renault 12 (+16.3%), followed by the Renault 4 (+10.7%) perking back up. The Citroen GS (+826%) ends its first full year in market at a sensational 4th place, becoming the brand’s best-seller by far. The Renault 6 (+2.6%) is down three spots to #5 while the Simca 1100 (+40.3%) soars two ranks to #6, making it a record six nameplates above 100,000 annual sales. The Peugeot 304 (+5.2%) progresses again but drops to #9 just as the Peugeot 504 (+26%) returns inside the Top 10 at #9. The Citroen 2CV is back up 20% to #11. The Renault 17 (#30) and 15 (#35) are new for the year.

The Ford Taunus is the best-selling foreign model in France in 1971.

The models ranking now includes imports. The winner is the Ford Taunus ranking #14 overall with 2% share. It distances the VW Beetle (#15), Ford Escort (#16) and Fiat 128 (#17). The Austin-Morris Mini Cooper ends the year at #19 and the Opel Kadett-Olympia makes it six foreigners in the Top 20 at #20. The Fiat 500 is at #27, the Fiat 850 at #28, Autobianchi A112 at #29, the Mercedes 220 at #32 and the BMW 2002 at #34.

Full Year 1971 Top 13 All French brands, Top 33 All French models, Top 48 All brands and Top 80 models below.