France July 2011: Heavily promoted Renault Clio takes off

Renault Clio

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

French car sales are down 6% in July at 159,945 registrations, bringing the 2011 total to 1,385,029 units, up 0.2%. To compensate for supply issues of the Clio diesel versions, Renault halved the price of some petrol versions to 7,990 €… The result: the Renault Clio takes off in July with 10,840 sales and 6.8%, reinforcing its leadership in 2011 at 72,691 units and 5.2%.

The Peugeot 207 (4.3%), Renault Megane (3.7%) and Citroen C3 (3.5%) follow, unchanged on June. The Renault Scenic (#5) and Peugeot 308 (#6) swap positions while the Renault Twingo, whose petrol versions were also heavily promoted, is up 6 spots to #7. Like last month, the VW Polo is the best-selling foreign model at #8 with 2.6% share.

Peugeot 508

The Peugeot 508 ranks #13, its best position in France so far, thanks to 2,995 sales and 1.9%, its highest market share yet. Other great performers this month include the Peugeot 5008 up 4 spots to #15, the Nissan Qashqai also up 4 spots to #17, the Seat Ibiza up 13 spots to #22 and the Mini up 6 spots to #23.

Citroen DS4

The Citroen DS4 continues to climb the ladder, up 16 spots on June to break into the French Top 30 for the first time in 27th position with 1,645 sales and 1% market share.

Previous month: see the June 2011 France post here.

Full July 2011 Top 100 Ranking Table below.