France November 2023: Tesla Model 3 up to #2

The Tesla Model 3 is the 2nd best-selling vehicle in France in November.

20/12 update: Now with Top 340 All models ranking.

152,713 new cars found a home in France in November, a solid 14% year-on-year gain. This is 11.6% below the pre-pandemic level of November 2019 (172,735). The year-to-date volume is now up 16.2% or 223,000 units to 1,593,720. This is already more than the Full Year 2022 total  (1,529,035). SUVs outpace the market at +17% to 69,936 and 45.8% share, catching up on sedans & hatches up 13% to 70,818 and 46.4% share. Station wagons gain 12% to 8,012 and 5.2% share. BEVs are the stars of the month at +52% year-on-year to 30,769 and 20.1% share vs. 15.1% in November 2022. Car buyers are rushing to purchase their BEV before the introduction of new bonus rates that will be less advantageous. HEVs soar 37% year-on-year to 24,346 while mild HEVs surge 35% to 15,728 and PHEVs are more modest yet beat the market at +18% to 14,512. Petrol edges up 1% to 48,815 whereas diesel sinks -28% to 13,227. With high inflation and prices up 15% over the past 3 years, French car buyers flock to leasing options. They represent 58% of the market in November vs. 38% for straight out purchases. When looking at private sales only, 56% are leasing while 44% are buying.

Renault (+14.3%) confirms it is back to its dominant self and matches the market year-on-year, yet has to contend with a weak 14.1% share, its lowest since November 202 and vs. 15.8% year-to-date. It’s a catastrophe for Peugeot (-16.5%), enduring the heaviest fall in the Top 33 to a meagre 11.8% share. We couldn’t find a lower monthly share for the manufacturer in our records, and we would have to go back decades to find a weaker result. Dacia meanwhile (+16.1%) improves its share year-on-year but at 8% share it is one percentage point below its YTD mark (9%). For the third time in the past year and ever, Citroen (-4.2%) is outsold by both Toyota (+7.8%) and Volkswagen (+8.1%) with the Japanese manufacturer hitting its second best ranking at #4 below the #3 it reached in October 2022. Tesla surges 63.2% year-on-year and 10 spots on October to #7, smashing its share record at 6.1% vs. a previous best of 4.8% last March. A sign of the upheaval at play in the current global car market, Tesla ends the month only 568 sales below Citroen. Cupra (+255.1%), Suzuki (+116.7%), Mazda (+95.4%), Seat (+74.7%), Skoda (+66.5%) and Opel (+64.7%) also post stellar gains below.

Model-wise, the Renault Clio (+25.6%) is the best-seller once again but the surprise of the month is just below: it’s no other than the Tesla Model 3 thanks to its facelift (+116.5%), up 30 spots on October to a fantastic 2nd place with 4% share. It eclipses its previous records of 2.9% (August 2021) and #7 (August and December 2021, March 2022). It is the best result of any Tesla model, with the Model Y hitting a best of #4 with 3.5% share last March. The Dacia Sandero (+2.4%) places #3 like it does year-to-date, with the Citroen C3 (-2.7%) at #4 and the Peugeot 308 (+28.1%) hitting its highest ranking since last February at #5. For the first time, the 308 III is the best-selling Peugeot at home, with the 208 (-34.8%) having a particularly difficult month at #6. The Model Y (+11.3%) makes it two Teslas in the Top 10 at #10. Excellent results for the Toyota Yaris Cross (+44.1%), Dacia Spring (+30.9%) and Dacia Jogger (+59%).

Previous month: France October 2023: Market up 21.9% but still down 20% on pre-pandemic

One year ago: France November 2022: Tesla, MG break records, market up 9.8%

Full November 2023 Top 66 All brands and Top 340 All models below.