France 1-20 August 2019: Demo sales lift Smart up 854% to #10, Fortwo to #8 in market down -11%

Smart Fortwo sales are up 1300% year-on-year in France so far in August.

Last August weekly update for the French market before full month results are revealed next Monday, and the market is worsening as the month ends with a -11% year-on-year drop over the first 20 days. Peugeot (+2%) stays on top ahead of an imploding Renault (-40%) and Citroen (-9%) while Toyota (+17%) manages to stave off both Volkswagen (-13%) and Dacia (-43%) to remain in 4th place which, if maintained until the end of the month, would be a new record for the Japanese carmaker in France. Mercedes (+53%) stuns at #7, as do Suzuki (+107%) and Smart (+852%) at the tail end of the Top 10, however these spectacular scores are due to inflated demo sales accounting for 35% of Suzuki’s total and a whopping 82% at Smart.

Model-wise, the Peugeot 208 (-6%) continues to take advantage of the Clio transition and remains at #1, yet its advantage over the Citroen C3 (-9%) thaws to just 17 sales. The Dacia Sandero (-35%) and Renault Clio Generation (-47%) both advance one spot vs. last week, knocking the Toyota Yaris (+17%) down to a still very impressive 5th place – an absolute record if maintained until the end of the month which is doubtful. Below, the Smart Fortwo (+1300%) reappears inside the Top 10 at #8 after doing so during the first week of the month, which means the new Renault Clio 5 is relegated to a worrying 10th place.

Previous week: France 1-13 August 2019: Toyota Yaris #3, Suzuki #9 in market down -4%

Previous month: France July 2019: Citroen, Toyota, Mercedes help contain market loss to -1.8%, Renault down to lowest share this decade

One year ago: France August 2018: Pre-WLTP stock clearances pulls market up 40%

Full 1-20 August 2019 Top 10 brands and models below.