France 1984: Peugeot 205 roars to pole position

Peugeot 205

29/10/26 update: Now with Top 46 All brands and Top 195 All models.

Today we go back 42 years to study the French new car market in 1984. Consult also our updated 1983 post here:

France 1983: Renault 5 celebrates 10 years in first place, Renault 11 lands at #3

Consult over 130 years of French Historical Data here

New car sales in France sink -12.9% in 1984 to 1,757,673 units. Renault (-23.1%) is in great difficulty but stays atop the brands charts with a dominant 31% share. Peugeot (+5.4%) defies the negative market and sees its share jump from 14.9% last year to 18.1%. Citroen (-13.5%) is stuck in third place with 12.7% of the market, stable year-on-year. Ford (-3.7%) remains by far the most popular foreign carmaker in the country with an improved 7.9% share, distancing Fiat (-5.7%) and Opel (-1%), both up two spots on 1983 and overtaking Volkswagen (-19.3%). Talbot (-54.3%) freefalls to #8. Below, Austin (+12.1%) is up to #11 and Seat (+621.4%) is revived at #15.

Renault 11

After 10 years of reign of the Renault 5, the Peugeot 205 makes up for a shy start in 1983 and, helped by the arrival of the 3-door and GTI versions, it takes the lead of the models ranking with 9.8% share, the first Peugeot to be the annual  #1 since the Peugeot 204 in 1971. Right in between the Renault 5 (-41.9%) – still #1 in January and February and #3 at year-end with 7.1% share – and the Peugeot 205, there was an interim leader in the French market. The Renault 11 ranked #1 from March to June 1984, peaking at brilliant 10% share in April. The 11 finishes the year in 2nd place with 8.2% share.

Very last month at #1 for the Renault 5 in February 1984

The Citroen BX (+17.7%) is up 3 spots to #4 with 6.1% share. Launched in March, the Renault 25 is a massive success and finishes the year in an outstanding 6th position with 4% share, the most successful large model for the brand in a very long time. The Renault Supercinq, launched in September, lands directly at #16 and ranked #2 in December. The Ford Fiesta (+11.7%) becomes the best-selling foreign model this year, up 3 spots to #10, and is followed by the Ford Escort (-20.4%) at #11, the VW Golf (-24%) at #14, the Opel Corsa (+21.7%) at #15, the Ford Sierra (-21.9%) at #17 and the Fiat Uno (+26.1%) at #18.

Full Year 1984 Top 46 All brands and Top 195 All models vs. Full Year 1983 data and every monthly Top 10 models below.