France November 2021: Dacia Spring up to #6, market fall thins to -3.2%

The Dacia Spring breaks into the French Top 10 for the first time in November.

24/05/2022 update: Now with Top 150 models

The French new car market limits is fall to -3.2% year-on-year in November to 121,995 registrations, however we must keep in mind that the November 2020 comparison base was already down -27% on the year prior due to the second lockdown hitting the country. The year-to-date volume is now up 2.5% year-on-year at 1,500,887 units and we have upped our 2021 Forecast to 1.67 million units (+1%). In terms of fuel type, petrol sales are down -15.5% year-on-year to 44,740 units and 36.7% share vs. 42% in November 2020, diesel sinks -40.9% to 22,667 and 18.6% share vs. 30.4% a year ago, but HEV soars 47.4% to 21,523 and 17.6% share vs. 11.6% in 2020, PHEV is up 35.2% to 12,162 and 10% share vs. 7.1% and BEV shoots up 71% to 16,416 and 13.5% vs. 7.6% a year go. Year-to-date, petrol is down -13% to 609,612 and 40.6% share vs. 47.9% over the same period in 2020, diesel freefalls -29.2% to 321,999 and 21.5% share vs. 31.1%, HEV surges 79.9% to 258,509 and 17.2% share vs. 9.8% a year ago, PHEV is up 111% to 125,515 and 8.4% share vs. 4.1% and BEV soars 54.1% to 138,934 and 9.3% share vs. 6.2% in 2020.

In the brands ranking, Peugeot (-22.6%) manages a 7th monthly win for the year despite losing a lot more ground than the market. It is followed by Renault (-11%) resisting better but still down. Year-to-date, Peugeot now has an unsurmountable 17,145 unit advantage over Renault and is now assured to top the annual brands charts at home for the first time ever. Citroen (+14.7%) defies the negative market to establish itself at 10.8% share but the star of the month is Dacia up a whopping 66.6% year-on-year to 9.1% share, a new record for the brand eclipsing the 9% reached last January. Toyota (+1.9%) holds onto the 5th place above a freefalling Volkswagen (-31.8%), with Mercedes (-10.8%) in tow. Kia (+34.6%) also defies gravity to lodge a stellar gain while Audi (-1.8%) and BMW (-6.7%) keep their loss to single-digits and round out the Top 10. Just outside, Hyundai (+108.2%) takes off and more than doubles its sales year-on-year. Tesla (+298.9%) rallies back up 8 spots on October to #14 overall, while MG (+848.3%), Cupra (+368.8%), Alpine (+91.1%), Jaguar (+88.2%), Mitsubishi (+59.4%) Suzuki (+44.8%), Honda (+32.7%) and Jeep (+19.5%) all impress further down.

Model-wise, the Renault Clio (+6.5%) reclaims the top spot for the 2nd time in the past 3 months but remains #2 year-to-date below the Peugeot 208 (-25.1%) in difficulty this month. Leader in October for the first time in French history, the Peugeot 2008 (+16.3%) posts another very solid score at #2, only 84 sales off a repeat at #1. The 2008 advances to #3 year-to-date as a result, displacing the Dacia Sandero III. Outstanding result for the Citroen C3 (+32.3%) at #4 overall. The performance of the month is delivered by the Dacia Spring, up 7 spots on October to break into the French Top 10 for the first time at #6, also becoming the country’s best-selling BEV. With the Duster (+43.2%) roaring up to #7, Dacia places 3 nameplates in the French Top 7 for the first time, more than any other carmaker. The Citroen C3 Aircross (+20.7%) also impresses and is up 7 ranks on last month to #9 while the Renault Arkana returns inside the Top 10 at #10. At #14 overall, the Fiat 500 (+66.1%) is the best-selling foreigner this month above the Toyota Yaris Cross (#16)  – outselling the Toyota Yaris (#17) – and the Tesla Model 3 (#18).

Previous month: France October 2021: Peugeot 2008 signs first ever win in sinking market (-30.7%)

One year ago: France November 2020: Second lockdown pulls market down -27%, Peugeot, Toyota, Audi resist

Full November 2021 Top 57 All-brands and Top 60 models below.