France May 2011: Peugeot above Renault, places 3008 at #5

Peugeot 3008

* Now updated with the Top 130 best-selling models! See ‘Read more’ at end of post *

For its second month without scrappage schemes, the French car market is surprisingly up 6% at 197,784 registrations (but -8% on an adjusted basis). The the daily sales average at 8,990 is ahead of April’s (8,472) which is also very encouraging.

For the first time in ages – at least in my 33 years lifetime and possibly ever – Peugeot passes Renault to become the best-selling brand in France with 35,982 sales (+10%) vs. 35,542 (-14%) for Renault and 33,057 (+16%) for Citroen, a very close #3.

The Peugeot 207 leads French sales for the 2nd month in a row with 9,521 units and 4.8%, just above the Renault Clio at 9,347 and 4.7%. However the Clio stays #1 year-to-date with 51,546 sales and 5.1%. The Citroen C3 is back on the podium at #3, up 4 spots on April with 3.4% share, staying#3 overall year-to-date.

This month’s best performance goes to the Peugeot 3008, delivering by far the best month of its 2 year-career: it breaks into the Top 5 for the very first time at #5 with 6,472 sales and 3.3% share. Previous bests were #8, 5,676 sales and 2.8% share, each achieved in separate months.

Citroen DS4

The Citroen C4 Picasso is up 7 spots at #7, the Opel Corsa is the best-selling foreign model at #9, and the Dacia Duster ranks within the Top 10 for the 3rd month in a row. The Peugeot 508 improves its share to 1.8% but drops two spots to #19 and the Citroen DS4 lands directly at #52 with 1,045 sales.

Full Top 130 Ranking Table below.