France 1-10 December 2012: Peugeot 208 at 8.5% share!

Peugeot 208

* See the Top 10 best-selling models and brands by clicking on the title! Thanks STAC *

December is shaping up to be another depressing month in France, with new car sales down 12% year-on-year over the first 10 days of the month to 37,937 registrations. Peugeot is the most popular brand over the period with 7,032 sales and 17.5%, ahead of Citroen at 14.3% while Volkswagen spectacularly manages to rank above Renault at #3 with 9.9% share vs. 9.7% for the traditional French leader… Notice also Dacia up 40% at #5, Audi up 4% at #6, Nissan up 8% at #7 and Mercedes brilliantly jumping into the Top 10.

2013 Dacia Sandero

Whereas it was passed by the Renault Clio IV for the first time last month, the Peugeot 208 may already have its revenge in December, selling a huge 3,222 units in 10 days for a mammoth 8.5% market share. That’s 3.5 times the Clio IV’s score at #4 with just 906 sales and 2.4%. The VW Polo shines at #3 and 2.9% while the Dacia Sandero takes full advantage of the new generation to climb up to #5 with 858 units and 2.3%, up 65% year-on-year.

Nissan Qashqai

Notice also the Dacia Duster back up to #7 at 2.1% and the Nissan Qashqai up to #8 with 755 sales and 2%, its best score in France after the #7 it reached during the first week of October. If it manages to keep at that level all through December, the Qashqai could become the only Japanese model ever to rank within the monthly French Top 10 with the Toyota Yaris which did it in January 2007 (#9) and March 2007 (#10).

Previous month: France November 2012: Renault Clio IV snaps up pole position!

Full 1-10 December Top 10 models and brands Ranking Tables below.