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 wand 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.
“Never before in history had a car sold so many units in a year in France!” Many thanks to Vavon for sourcing this ad.
February 1, 1966: 1,000,000th Renault 4L produced
France 1966 – French brands (incl. Commercial Vehicles):
| Pos | Brand | 1966 | % | /65 | 1965 | % | Pos |
| 1 | Citroen | 401,613 | 33.2% | + 12.0% | 358,475 | 34.0% | 1 |
| 2 | Renault | 392,949 | 32.5% | + 16.2% | 338,116 | 32.0% | 2 |
| 3 | Peugeot | 233,620 | 19.3% | + 29.1% | 180,967 | 17.1% | 3 |
| 4 | Simca | 139,116 | 11.5% | + 3.5% | 134,379 | 12.7% | 4 |
| 5 | Saviem | 22,025 | 1.8% | + 87.2% | 11,766 | 1.1% | 6 |
| 6 | Berliet | 12,470 | 1.0% | + 4.0% | 11,986 | 1.1% | 5 |
| 7 | Unic (FFSA) | 5,862 | 0.5% | n/a | 0 | 0.0% | – |
| 8 | Hotchkiss | 654 | 0.1% | – 46.8% | 1,230 | 0.1% | 9 |
| 9 | Matra-Sports | 510 | 0.0% | + 140.6% | 212 | 0.0% | 10 |
| 10 | Alpine | 320 | 0.0% | + 190.9% | 110 | 0.0% | 13 |
| 11 | Sovam | 270 | 0.0% | new | 0 | 0.0% | – |
| 12 | Willème | 129 | 0.0% | – 11.6% | 146 | 0.0% | 11 |
| 13 | F.A.R. | 78 | 0.0% | – 12.4% | 89 | 0.0% | 14 |
France 1966 – French models (excluding medium and heavy commercials):
| Pos | Model | 1966 | % | /65 | 1965 | % | Pos |
| 1 | Citroen Ami 6 | 165,624 | 13.7% | + 19.7% | 138,357 | 13.1% | 2 |
| 2 | Renault R4 | 160,888 | 13.3% | + 7.8% | 149,241 | 14.1% | 1 |
| 3 | Citroen 2 CV | 109,591 | 9.1% | + 3.3% | 106,084 | 10.0% | 3 |
| 4 | Peugeot 204 | 97,403 | 8.1% | + 137.3% | 41,047 | 3.9% | 9 |
| 5 | Peugeot 404 | 87,321 | 7.2% | – 10.4% | 97,404 | 9.2% | 4 |
| 6 | Renault R10 | 78,771 | 6.5% | + 112.3% | 37,111 | 3.5% | 10 |
| 7 | Renault R16 | 68,916 | 5.7% | + 163.6% | 26,142 | 2.5% | 11 |
| 8 | Citroen ID-DS 19, 21 | 64,192 | 5.3% | + 9.6% | 58,592 | 5.6% | 6 |
| 9 | Simca 1300-1301 | 49,603 | 4.1% | – 1.6% | 50,399 | 4.8% | 7 |
| 10 | Simca 1000 | 44,749 | 3.7% | + 6.5% | 42,033 | 4.0% | 8 |
| 11 | Renault R8 | 35,635 | 2.9% | – 44.5% | 64,250 | 6.1% | 5 |
| 12 | Simca 1500-1501 | 30,024 | 2.5% | + 17.0% | 25,664 | 2.4% | 12 |
| 13 | Renault R4-300kg (LCV) | 21,976 | 1.8% | + 11.7% | 19,678 | 1.9% | 13 |
| 14 | Citroen AK | 20,120 | 1.7% | + 9.9% | 18,307 | 1.7% | 17 |
| 15 | Renault Estafette | 18,963 | 1.6% | – 1.7% | 19,300 | 1.8% | 15 |
| 16 | Peugeot 403 | 15,159 | 1.3% | – 22.9% | 19,668 | 1.9% | 14 |
| 17 | Peugeot 404 U (LCV) | 14,270 | 1.2% | + 52.1% | 9,383 | 0.9% | 21 |
| 18 | Citroen 2 CV AZU (LCV) | 9,894 | 0.8% | – 11.7% | 11,201 | 1.1% | 19 |
| 19 | Peugeot 403 U (LCV) | 8,891 | 0.7% | + 0.5% | 8,846 | 0.8% | 23 |
| 20 | Simca Break 1300-1301 | 7,477 | 0.6% | + 211.9% | 2,397 | 0.2% | 29 |
| 21 | Simca Break 1500-1501 | 7,031 | 0.6% | – 39.5% | 11,625 | 1.1% | 18 |
| 22 | Peugeot 204 U (LCV) | 5,897 | 0.5% | new | 0 | 0.0% | – |
| 23 | Citroen ID Break | 5,106 | 0.4% | + 13.9% | 4,481 | 0.4% | 25 |
| 24 | Renault Dauphine | 4,388 | 0.4% | – 51.7% | 9,087 | 0.9% | 22 |
| 25 | Citroen Panhard B, BT, CT | 3,537 | 0.3% | new | 0 | 0.0% | – |
| 26 | Renault Caravelle | 2,289 | 0.2% | – 33.0% | 3,418 | 0.3% | 27 |
| 27 | Citroen HY/HZ | 2,112 | 0.2% | – 88.8% | 18,825 | 1.8% | 16 |
| 28 | Matra-Sports 6 CV | 510 | 0.0% | + 140.6% | 212 | 0.0% | 35 |
| 29 | Alpine 6 CV | 320 | 0.0% | + 190.9% | 110 | 0.0% | 37 |
| 30 | Sovam 650 | 270 | 0.0% | new | 0 | 0.0% | – |
| 31 | Simca 1000 U (LCV) | 232 | 0.0% | new | 0 | 0.0% | – |
| 32 | Hotchkiss JH 102-HWL | 219 | 0.0% | + 253.2% | 62 | 0.0% | 38 |
| 33 | Sovam 1100 | 34 | 0.0% | new | 0 | 0.0% | – |
| 34 | Sovam VUC/C (LCV) | 10 | 0.0% | new | 0 | 0.0% | – |
France 1966 – Sales (different source, including imports):
| Pos | Model | 1966 | % |
| 1 | Citroen Ami 6 | 162,000 | 13.2% |
| 2 | Renault 4L | 160,000 | 13.0% |
| 3 | Citroen 2CV | 107,000 | 8.7% |
| 4 | Peugeot 404 | 106,000 | 8.6% |
| 5 | Peugeot 204 | 95,000 | 7.7% |
| 6 | Simca 1301/1501 | 93,000 | 7.6% |
| 7 | Renault 10 | 78,500 | 6.4% |
| 8 | Citroen DS/ID | 69,000 | 5.6% |
| 9 | Renault 16 | 68,000 | 5.5% |
| 10 | Simca 1000 | 44,500 | 3.6% |
| 11 | Renault 8 | 35,500 | 2.9% |
| 12 | Opel Kadett | 20,500 | 1.7% |
| 13 | Fiat 850 | 19,500 | 1.6% |
| 14 | Ford 12M | 14,200 | 1.2% |
| 15 | Opel Rekord | 12,450 | 1.0% |
| 16 | Austin/Morris Mini | 10,100 | 0.8% |
| 17 | Peugeot 403 | 9,000 | 0.7% |
| 18 | VW Beetle | 7,550 | 0.6% |
| 19 | Fiat 500 | 6,300 | 0.5% |
| 20 | Ford 17M | 6,300 | 0.5% |
France 1966 – Production:
| Pos | Model | Production | % | /65 |
| 1 | Renault 4L | 226,000 | 12.7% | + 24.0% |
| 2 | Citroen Ami 6 | 180,000 | 10.1% | + 14.0% |
| 3 | Peugeot 404 | 178,000 | 10.0% | + 9.0% |
| 4 | Simca 1000 | 177,000 | 9.9% | + 50.0% |
| 5 | Renault 10 | 168,000 | 9.4% | + 133.0% |
| 6 | Simca 1300/1500 | 153,000 | 8.5% | + 30.0% |
| 7 | Citroen 2CV | 137,000 | 7.7% | – 1.0% |
| 8 | Peugeot 204 | 118,000 | 6.6% | + 131.0% |
| 9 | Renault 16 | 118,000 | 6.6% | + 203.0% |
| 10 | Citroen DS/ID | 91,000 | 5.1% | + 10.0% |
| 11 | Renault 8 | 60,000 | 3.4% | – 40.0% |
| 12 | Peugeot 403 | 18,000 | 1.0% | – 33.0% |
| 13 | Renault Dauphine | 13,000 | 0.7% | – 43.0% |
Source: Manufacturers, L’Auto Journal, L’Argus
This Post Has 2 Comments
Bonsoir,
De mémoire, Citroën a battu des records en 1966: plus de 366 000 véhicules vendus en France! J’ai l’impression que la gamme était assez faible (2CV, Ami 6, DS/ID et les autres VUL (Type HY, …)!
PS: Bravo pour ton travail! Je suis désolé mais je n’ai pas eu le temps de m’occuper ce week-end mais promis je vais m’en occuper dès demain lundi/mardi, je t’enverrai d’autres chiffres et d’autres stats… par mail. 🙂
à très bientôt.
Salut STAC,
Merci beaucoup pour ton compliment!
Je vais continuer a mettre a jour la France cette semaine, de 1981 a 2000!
A bientot
Matt