France 2004: 206 passes Clio, Renault Modus off to a great start

Peugeot 206

* See the Top 100 best-selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at end of post! *

In a stable market (2,013,709 registrations), the Peugeot 206 loses less ground than the Clio to become #1 over the year for the first time since 2001.

There may be one culprit for this changeover: the Renault Modus. The small MPV delivers a smashing entrance, reaching #5 in September for its first full month (5.1%), and again in November (5%) and December (4.3%). It hit its big sister full frontal: from 6.7% share (+32%) in August, the Clio plunged to 5.6% in Sept (#4, -35%) and 5.4% in October (#4, -46%)…

Renault Modus

(Although striking, the ‘Modus-effect’ was short-lived, the model never surpassing its opening market share of 5.1% and the Clio recovering perfectly well in 2005…)

2004 was also the year the Renault Scenic (or any MPV for that matter) ranked #1 monthly for the very first time in France: in November with 7.7% market share, an out-of-this-world figure for a car in that category. The Peugeot 307 was also #1 once this year, in May.

Peugeot 407

The Peugeot 407 broke into the French monthly Top 10 for the first time as early as for its 2nd month of sale: #10 in June with 5,555 sales and 2.6% share, then peaking at #7 in August with 3.6%.

Full Year 2004 Top 100 and Jun-Dec monthly Top 20 Ranking Tables below.