France 1980: Renault 5 hits highest share at 16%

Renault 5

17/09/2026 update: Now with Top 55 All brands and Top 187 All models.

We are back with a thorough update of the French car rankings from 1980. You can also check the Full Year 1979 article which has been updated as well.

Consult over 130 years of French Historical Data here

The Renault 5 4-door pulls the nameplate’s sales up by 41.1%.

French customers bought 1,873,202 new cars in 1980, a -5.1% year-on-year drop. Renault (+9.8%) defies the negative market with a solid YoY gain to propel the brand to a whopping 40.5% share, believed to be a new record for the carmaker at home, eclipsing the 36.9% reached in 1949. Peugeot (-18.2%) follows far below at 15.7% ahead of Citroen (-16.7%) at 14.5%. Talbot (-27.9%) freefalls but stays in 4th place.

Renault 14

Big event among foreign carmakers: Volkswagen (+16.4%) overtakes Ford (-13.7%) to land at #5 overall and become the most popular for what is believed to be the first time in French history. Fiat (+11.6%) follows at #7 above Opel (-10.4%), Alfa Romeo (-11.7%) and Austin (-4.6%). Datsun (+37.7%) surges to #11, by far the best-selling Japanese carmaker in the country ahead of Toyota (+14.6%), Mazda (+11.5%) and Honda (+48%). Notice also Audi (+17.4%), BMW (+14.6%) and Mercedes (+16.4%) all in outstanding shape.

Renault 20

Over in the models charts, helped by the launch of the 4-door version in July 1979, the Renault 5 soars 41.1% to pass the 300,000 annual sales mark for the first time and reach a record 16% share, its highest ever and still to this date (as of 2026) the highest year-end market share reached by a single model in France since 1961 and the Renault Dauphine (18%). The Top 4 stays unchanged on 1979 with the Renault 18 (+3%) at #2, the Peugeot 305 (-13.3%) at #3 and the Peugeot 104 (-4.2%) at #4.

Renault Fuego

Three more models reach their best ever market share in France this year: the Renault 14 is in 5th place at 4.9%, the Renault 20 breaks into the Top 10 at #9 with 3.4% and the Renault Fuego lands directly at #15 for its first and what will stay its best year of sales. The Talbot Solara lands at #18. The VW Golf (+18.8%) is once again the best-selling foreigner, climbing to #12 overall and distancing the Ford Fiesta (#16), Opel Kadett (#20), Ford Taunus (#21) and Fiat Ritmo (#22).

Full Year 1980 Top 55 All brands and Top 187 All models vs. Full Year 1979 figures below.