France September 2023: Peugeot 208 keeps Renault Clio at bay in market slowing down its growth

A facelifted version of the Peugeot 208 is about to hit the market.

31/10 update: Now with Top 320 All models ranking.

New car sales in France progress 9.1% year-on-year in August to 153,916 units, leading to a year-to-date tally up 15.7% to 1,286,237. Petrol sales edge up 1.5% to 52,943 and 34.4% share vs. 37% in September 2022, diesel sinks -34.7% to 13,263 and 8.6% share vs. 14.4% a year ago, Hybrids soar 30.3% to 38,466 and 25% share vs. 20.9%, PHEVs surge 34.9% to 15,670 and 10.2% share vs. 8.2%, BEVs gain 34.4% to 30,213 and 19.6% share vs. 15.9% a year ago and LPG lift 55.8% to 5,391 and 3.5% share vs. 2.5% last year.

In the brands aisle, Renault (+12.5%) outpaces its home market to a dominant 16.3% share vs. just 12.4% for its archenemy Peugeot (-18.7%). This is Peugeot’s equal worst share this year, matching July. Dacia (+17.4%) is also in great shape at #3 to 9.3% share, in line with its YTD level. Citroen (-1.8%) manages to stay in 4th place despite losing ground year-on-year, while Volkswagen (+18.7%) is back above Toyota (-15.5%). Tesla (+57.1%) and BMW (+36.3%) score the two largest gains in the Top 10. Mercedes (+4.9%) and Ford (-7.8%) underperform. Below, MG (+249.9%) continues on its stellar trajectory, breaking its share record this month at 2.2%. Jeep (+161.3%), Lexus (+126.9%) and Suzuki (+88.6%) also impress.

The Fiat 500 hits its highest ever ranking in France this month.

Model-wise, despite the poor performance of the brand and a -3.8% year-on-year drop, the Peugeot 208 manages to hold onto the top spot with 6.4% share vs. 5.4% year-to-date, that’s more than half Peugeot’s volume for the month. The Renault Clio (+37.7%) continues to compensate for low year-ago volumes and keeps the year-to-date lead at 5.6% share vs. 5.4% for the 208. The Dacia Sandero (+6.7%) and Citroen C3 (+7.9%) rank #3 and #4 like they do year-to-date. The Tesla Model Y (+299.3%) climbs to 5th place, its 2nd highest ranking in France below the #4 reached in March. The Renault Captur (+30%) and Fiat 500 (+47.6%) shine in the remainder of the Top 10, and at #7 this is believed to be the 500’s best ever ranking in France. The Dacia Duster (+1%), Peugeot 308 (-10.1%) and most strikingly the Peugeot 2008 (-44.9%) all underperform. The Renault Austral (#11) celebrates one year in market and is now above its main competitor the Peugeot 3008 (-20.9%) in the year-to-date charts. The MG4 is down two spots on August to a still very impressive #19.

Previous month: France August 2023: Toyota Yaris Cross, MG 4 reach milestones

One year ago: September 2022: Peugeot 208 up to 7.2% share, Renault Megane E-Tech in Top 10

Full September 2023 Top 52 All brands and Top 320 All models below.