France 1966: Citroen Ami 6 snaps up top spot

Citroen Ami 6

29/07/2026 update: Now with the Top 13 All French brands and Top 34 All French models.

Today we go back 60 years to study the best-selling brands and models in France in 1966…

Consult over 130 years of French Historical Data here

Check out our additional French historical posts updated today:

France 1967: Renault and R4 reclaim leadership

France 1968: Renault 4 and Peugeot 204 in the lead

France 1969: 204 first Peugeot to top the annual charts

France 1970: Peugeot 204 and Renault 6 best-sellers

France 1971: Peugeot 204 threepeats at #1, Citroen GS lands at #4, Ford Taunus #1 foreigner

In 1966 sales of new French vehicles at home jump +14.6% to 1,209,708 units, including commercial vehicles. Citroen (+12%) keeps the lead of the brands charts but sees its share thaw from 34% to 33.2%. Renault (+16.2%) is catching up and ends the year at 32.5% of its home market. Peugeot (+29.1%) advances to 19.3% while Simca (+3.5%) drops to 11.5%.

Renault 4L

The Citroen Ami 6, characterised by an unusual reverse-raked rear window, was launched in 1961 to bridge the gap in the Citroen range between the luxurious DS and the frugal 2CV. Its sales went up steadily until 1966 when it manages to snap up the best-seller title off the Renault 4L for just 5,000 sales. The Ami 6 achieves the highest annual sales volume by any model in France so far… 1966 would be the only year the Ami 6 ranked 1st in France and the last Citroen to top the charts at year-end. Because the 4L is more successful in export markets it keeps the #1 ranking production-wise at 226,000 units vs. 180,000 for the Ami 6, and celebrates its one millionth unit produced on February 1. 

Citroen DS

The Citroen 2CV (+3.3%) rounds up the podium and is the third model to pass the 100,000 annual sales this year. The Peugeot 204 (+137.3%) ascends to #4 for its first full year in market, toppling the 404 (-10.4%). Also launched in 1965, the Renault 10 (+112.3%) is up to #6 and the Renault 16 (+163.6%) up to #7. The Citroen ID-DS (+9.6%) drops two spots to #8.

Opel Kadett

The Opel Kadett is the best-selling foreign model in France in 1966, ranking #12 overall ahead of the Fiat 850 at #13, the Ford 12M at #14 and the Opel Rekord at #15. Other imports in the Top 20 include the Austin/Morris Mini at #16, the VW Beetle at #18 and the Fiat 500 at #20.

Full Year 1966 Top 13 All French brands, Top 34 All French models and Top 20 overall models and Top 13 French models production below.