France Full Year 2019: Exclusive All-brands rankings for all 103 departments

The Alpine A110 scores one of its strongest market shares in 48-Lozère, the most rural department in France.

For the second consecutive year we can share with you the Top 20 best-selling brands for each of 103 French departments, with the tiny overseas departments of St Martin and St Barthelemy being added this year. This data is exclusive to BSCB, you won’t find it anywhere else! Keep in mind regular updates for New Caledonia are not included here as this is a French overseas territory – not a department.

Renault wins 58 departments vs. 44 for Peugeot.

The largest French departments in terms of volume remain dictated by rental car companies and fleet operators registering there because of lower taxes. It is the case for 60-Oise (128.048 sales), 76-Seine Maritime (86.767) and 92-Hauts de Seine (86.732), but this year a more natural candidate, 59-Nord (88.143) climbs to 2nd place overall. 78-Yvelines (76.883), 69-Rhone (64.896), 13-Bouches du Rhone (62.436), 75-Paris (57.134), 33-Gironde (49.757) and 31-Haute Garonne (43.527) follow. At the other end of the scale, 977-St Barthelemy (21), 976-St Martin (83), 48-Lozere (1.538), 976-Mayotte (1.734) and 23-Creuse (2.708) return the smallest volumes of all French departments in 2019.

Dacia does best in the French countryside as well as overseas departments.

At the department-winning game, Renault once again comes up first with 58 wins vs. 44 for archenemy Peugeot, with both carmakers finishing on the podium of 102 out of 103 departments. Renault’s record shares are 61.9% in tiny St Barthélémy and 30.8% in 80-Somme while Peugeot hits it highest level at 31.7% in 70-Haute Saône. Dacia manages one win this year (none in 2018), in the tiny overseas department of Mayotte (976) where it is equal #1 with Peugeot at a record 22.6% share. Indeed Dacia is a hit in French overseas departments, ranking #3 in 971-Guadeloupe, 972-Martinique and 974-Reunion, but also – and you will know this already if you read our French Travels articles – in rural areas, ranking #3 in 04-Alpes de Haute Provence, 05-Hautes Alpes and 23-Creuse (metropolitan record 12.8%), all departments with less than 5.000 annual sales. In contrast Dacia is out of the 75-Paris Top 10.

BMW holds a stunning 11.5% share in 67-Bas Rhin bordering Germany.

Another brand doing particularly well in the countryside: Alpine, reaching its highest market shares in 07-Ardèche (0.42%), 26-Drôme (0.41%) and 48-Lozère (0.32%). Citroen manages to snap the overall 2nd spot in 6 departments vs. just 3 in 2018, peaking at 28.9% share in 978 St Martin while its metropolitan record is 17.3% in 25-Doubs. Logically, Volkswagen comes next with 6 finishes at #3 vs. 5 last year, peaking at 14.9% in 02-Aisne. Three brands mange one podium finish at #3: Ford in 976-Mayotte at a huge 18.7% share, BMW in 67-Bas Rhin at a stunning 11.5% share and Toyota in 977-St Barthélémy with a record 9.5% share. Fiat (11% in rental-friendly 76-Seine Maritime), Mercedes (78-Yvelines), Opel (68-Bas Rhin), Suzuki (05-Hautes Alpes) and DS (978-St Martin) all snap one #4 finish. Hyundai scores all its #5 finishes overseas, as does Kia, while Smart is #5 in 75-Paris.

Tesla is most popular in 75-Paris and 06-Alpes Maritimes.

75-Paris and its surrounding departments are the paradise of posh to luxury brands: Mini snaps its only Top 10 finish there at #10 at a record 2.8% share, Volvo scores its three highest shares in the region (2% in 92-Hauts de Seine, 1.9% in 75-Paris and 1.9% in 95-Val d’Oise), Land Rover hits a record 1.3% in 75-Paris and Ferrari a record 0.05% in 75-Paris also. New kid on the block Tesla scores its highest market share in 75-Paris too at 1%, followed by 0.8% in 06-Alpes Maritimes, 0.75% in 74-Haute Savoie and 0.6% in 78-Yvelines and 94-Val de Marne. As for Lamborghini, its records its highest market share at 0.04% in 90-Territoire de Belfort.

Alongside the Top All-brands for each 103 department, you can consult below a complete table of how many times each brand has reached a certain ranking between #1 and #10, the detail of their highest share and highest ranking in a summary table.

Previous year: France Full Year 2018: Exclusive Top 20 brands for all 103 departments

Full Year 2019 Top All-brands for all 101 French departments below.