France December 2016: New generation Renault Scénic up to #6

The Renault Scénic IV shoots up to 6th place overall at home in December. 

* See the Top 42 brands, Top 300 models and Top 10 private sales by clicking on the title *

The French new car market ends 2016 on a dynamic 6% year-on-year increase to 194.381 registrations, lifting the final annual tally up 5% (detailed Full Year 2016 report will follow shortly). End-of-period months are always strong for Renault and December is no exception with a 22.2% share for the French carmaker (+2%) vs. just 14.1% for Peugeot (+5%). Citroen (-11%) worryingly falls to even lower market shares at just 7.5% this month, only 644 sales above Volkswagen (+15%). Mercedes also shoots up 15% to a splendid 6th place overall, outselling mass market players Toyota (+18%), Nissan (+14%) and Ford (-1%), as well as Audi (+19%) by over 3.000 units. It is however not enough for Mercedes to end 2016 at the #1 luxury spot, still held by Audi. Further down the ranking, Fiat (+30%), Kia (+26%), Suzuki (+49%), Skoda (+22%), Alfa Romeo (+30%) and Porsche (+100%) post very robust gains while among smaller brands Infiniti (+548%), Maserati (+337%) and Jaguar (+121%) deliver explosive growth.

The Nissan Micra is up 69% year-on-year in December. Picture largus.fr

In the models ranking, both the Renault Clio (+14%) and Peugeot 208 (+10%) outpace the market and are followed by the Renault Captur (-13%). The Renault Mégane IV (+146%) finally outsells its Segment C rival the Peugeot 308 at 5.594 sales vs. 5.365 while the Renault Scénic IV shoots up 19 spots on November to land at #6, well above the Citroen C4 Picasso (#20). The Peugeot 3008 II holds strong at #7 with 2.6% of its home market. For the first time in many decades, there are no Citroens in the Top 15 this month, with the C3 transitioning between generations: the C3 II is down 30% to #16 and the C3 III is up one spot on November to #19. The VW Golf (+23%), Polo (-6%), Toyota Yaris (+13%) and VW Tiguan (+140%) are the best-selling foreign nameplates in France in December.

The Toyota C-HR already ranks inside the French Top 70. Picture largus.fr 

Notice also the Mercedes A-Class up 33% to #23, the Renaut Zoe up 21% to #24, Opel Mokka up 26% to #25, Nissan Micra up 69% to #30 thanks to the new model, Renault Talisman up 51% to #33, BMW X1 up 48% to #38, Mercedes GLC up 49% to #41 and the Hyundai i20 up 56% to #50. The Toyota C-HR is already a blockbuster for the brand, ranking #65 this month, the Audi Q2 breaks into the Top 100 at #91 and the Suzuki Ignis is up 108 spots on November to #152. In the private sales ranking, the Peugeot 208 surges 18% to #1 and clinches a last minute annual win off the Dacia Sandero, with the Renault Clio (-12%) in 2nd place and the Peugeot 2008 (+8%) rounding up the podium. The Citroen C3 is up 30% to #6 (both generations combined).

Previous month: France November 2016: New Peugeot 3008 soars to 7th place

One year ago: France December 2015: Renault and Dacia tank up on sales

Full December 2016 Top 42 brands, Top 300 models and Top 10 private sales below.