France January 2022: First Top 10 for Peugeot 308 III, market down -18.6%

The Peugeot 308 III breaks into its home Top 10 in January. Picture largus.fr

24/05/22 update: Now with Top 150 models.

The year starts on a negative note in France with new car registrations down another -18.6% year-on-year to just 102,901 units. Petrol sales dive -31.5% to 38,752 units and 37.7% share vs. 44.8% a year ago, diesel implodes -41.1% to 18,868 and 18.3% share vs. 25.3% in January 2021, HEV are up 12.9% to 22.660 and 22% vs. 15.9% last year, BEV soars 57.9% to 10,217 and 9.9% vs. 5.1% and PHEV edges down -3.2% too 7,934 and 7.7% vs. 6.5%.

Peugeot (-21.5%) loses more ground than the market but at 19.9% share it reclaims the top spot it held over the Full Year 2021, well above Renault (-17%) at 15.2% share, Citroen (-13.9%) resists well and is back above the symbolic 10% share milestone at 10.3%. Dacia (-34.5%) is in great difficulty with a year-ago comparison base that involved the launch of the Sandero III. Toyota (-20.6%) outsells Volkswagen (-13.8%) for the 5th place overall while the two leading Korean brands stun once again with year-on-year upticks: Hyundai is up 13.2% to #7 and Kia up 6% to #8. Ford (-35.9%) and Opel (-13.8%) round out the Top 10. A rarity: there are no premium brands in the Top 10 with BMW (-19.9%) down to #11, Audi (-13.9%) down to #12 and Mercedes (-14.4%) down to #14 vs. #7 in December and over the Full Year 2021. Mini (+33.7%) scores the largest gain in the Top 25 at #13 vs. #19 over the FY2021, with MG (+344%), Mitsubishi (+144.6%), Alpine (+81.1%), Cupra (+74.6%) and Lexus (+19.4%) also up. Newcomer Lynk & Co is up five spots to a record #31.

Model-wise, the Peugeot 208 (-4.4%) shoots up to 7.4% share, its highest since April 2019 (8.9%) which was impacted by Covid-19 dealership closures. The Renault Clio (-21.1%) and Peugeot 2008 (-20.1%) follow like in December and over the Full Year 2021. The Citroen C3 (-10.2%) resists and climbs back up one spot to #4 ahead of the Peugeot 3008 (-26.3%) in difficulty but up two ranks on last month to #5. Below the Renault Captur (-18.6%) and Dacia Sandero (-51.3%), the Peugeot 308 III makes its very first appearance inside the French Top 10 at #8 with 2.2% share. As for the Renault Arkana, it confirms its successful launch by signing a third Top 10 finish at #9. The Dacia Duster (+7.4%) rounds out the Top 10. Just below at #11, the Toyota Yaris Cross is the best-selling foreign vehicle (albeit made in France), followed by the Ford Puma (#15) and Mini Hatch (#19). Foreign leader over the Full Year 2021, the Toyota Yaris (-75.7%) sinks to #32. The Dacia Spring is down one spot to #14.

Previous post: France Full Year 2021: Peugeot outsells Renault for 1st time since 1939, 208 best-seller in stable market (+0.5%)

One year ago: France January 2021: Dacia Sandero best-selling nameplate for the first time, market down -5.8%

Full January 2022 Top 50 All-brands, Top 100 models and Top 10 BEVs below.