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

December 8, 2012
Matt Gasnier

* See the Top 80 best-selling models by clicking on the title! *

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 15 best-selling brands: see how Toyota (+6%), Audi (+1%), Mercedes (+18%), BMW (+5%), Kia (+3%) and Hyundai (+50%!) are the only brands in the Top 15 to progress year-on-year vs. -40% for Dacia, -31% for Renault and -30% for Opel…

At 144,694 registrations, the French new car market drops by 19% year-on-year and falls to its lowest for the month since 1997. The year-to-date total now stands at 1,728,538 units, down 14% on 2011. The CCFA now tables on a Full Year 2012 at 1.9 million units, the weakest car sales level in France in 15 years – since, again, 1997… As predicted in my last French update, the Renault Clio IV manages to snap up the overall French pole position for its first full ‘true’ month of sales (meaning not to dealerships) with 7,152 units and 4.9% vs. 6,872 and 4.7% for its archenemy the Peugeot 208… Given the troubled economic times France is going through at the moment, this is a remarkable performance as the Clio IV starts at 13,700€ vs. 9,990€ for 208.

The Citroen C3 is solid in third position at 4,704 sales and 3.3% and passes the Renault Megane (down to #7 this month) to become the #2 model in 2012 year-to-date. The Renault Scenic is back up 6 spots to #4 but still below its 2012 average at 2.9% share. The VW Polo lodges a brilliant month at #5 with 3,645 units and 2.5%, its highest ranking in the country since January and only the 4th time it ranks within the Top 5 after December 2008 (#3), December 2011 (#4) and January 2012 (#4). Even though this month’s Polo performance seems mundane, it is the only foreign model to have ever broken into the French monthly Top 5. Ever.

Other great performers this month include the Peugeot 508 up 2 spots to #17, the Mercedes A-Class up 23 to #33, the Mercedes B-Class up 4 to #34 and the Kia Sportage breaking into the French monthly Top 50 for the very first time at #48 with 939 sales. As far as recent launches are concerned, the Ford B-Max is up a further 9 ranks to #40, the Volvo V40 is down 26% on October to 356 sales, the Dacia Dokker is up 351% to 212 units, the Seat Toledo up to 93 sales, the Skoda Rapid up to 70, and the Ferrari F12 (4 units), Opel Adam (3) and Mokka (2) make their first appearance in the French ranking.

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