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

Renault 5

Launched in 1972, the Renault 5 takes command of the French models ranking in 1974 with 154,000 sales and 11% market share. This is the start of a decade of domination for the small Renault and 5,580,000 units of the models would be produced up until 1984 when it was replaced by the Supercinq.

Citroen 2CV

The Renault 5 actually sees its share drop slightly over the next couple of years: it is at 10.2% with 151,200 sales in 1975 and 8.9% and 165,382 sales in 1976. I don’t have a detailed ranking for this period, just figures for specific models. Both years, the 25 year-old Citroen 2CV demonstrate an incredible longevity by selling 90,423 units for a very robust 6.1% share in 1975 and no less than 100,345 units and 5,4% in 1976!

1974, 1975 and 1976 sales figures below.