France 12-18 April 2011: Dacia Duster #2!

Dacia Duster

Last week was not a fluke, the Dacia Duster confirms it is now a force to be reckoned with in the French market and a serious contender for the 2011 podium. During the week of 12 to 18 April, the Duster is the 2nd best selling car in France with 1,474 sales and a stable 3.6% share, a full percentage point above it March level.

The Renault Megane takes the lead this week at 3.8%. The Renault Clio drops to #3, followed by the Peugeot 207 and a VW Polo confirming its exceptional strength at 3% share, down from 3.1% and #3 last week. The Peugeot 3008 is up to #7 at 2.8%.

Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

France April 2011: Dacia Duster #1 in weekly ranking!

* Many thanks to my dear Mum and Dad for sourcing and scanning Auto Plus mag! *

According to Dacia’s Facebook page, the Dacia Duster was the best selling car in France during the week of April 5th to April 11th! This is confirmed by official data published by French car weekly Auto Plus. The Duster leads with 1,251 sales and 3.6% share, ahead of the Renault Clio at 1,177 units and the VW Polo at 1,086.

This is an exceptional achievement by the French/Romanian SUV after it broke into the Top 10 for the first time and achieved its best ever month in France in March in 7th place with 6,634 units and 2.6% share. These records look like they will be obsolete by the end of the month. It is the first time a ‘terrain’ vehicle ever tops French car sales.

Only a handful of models have topped the French weekly charts in the last 5 years: the Peugeot 207, Renault Clio, Renault Twingo, Citroen C3, Dacia Sandero and Peugeot 308 have done so. The Duster is therefore the 7th model to shine and the second Dacia.

Complete Auto Plus article, Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

France March 2011: Citroen C3 and Dacia Duster beat records

Citroen C3

* See the Top 100 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

As cash-for-clunkers orders had a March 31 delivery deadline, this is the final month of artificially boosted sales for the French market at +6% and 257,631 registrations. In March and possibly for the first time ever all cars are under 5% share, and the models ranking is very eventful:

Just below the Renault Clio, best seller for the 3rd month in a row, we find the Citroen C3 in 2nd position at 12,565 units and an outstanding 4.9% share. That’s three C3 nameplate records beaten all at once: best volume ever (beating 8,656 in Dec 2010), best position ever (beating #3 in Aug 2006) and best market share ever (beating 4.5% in May 2005).

The Peugeot 207 drops to 3rd at 4.7%, hurt by the exceptional performance of its older sister the Peugeot 206+, at its best position ever in 4th place with 3.5% share. The Renault Megane and Peugeot 308 follow.

Dacia Duster

For the first time, the Dacia Duster ranks in the Top 10 in France, at a remarkable 7th place with 6,634 sales and 2.6% share. All these figures are new records.

Citroen C4

The Citroen C4 new generation jumps into the Top 10 for the first time at #9 with 6,300 sales and 2.4%. Other good performers include the Nissan Micra at #32, the Chevrolet Spark at #33 and the Peugeot 508 at #35.

Full Top 100 Ranking Table below.

France LCV March 2011: Renault Kangoo & Citroen Berlingo on top

Renault Kangoo

See the Top 100 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post.

French Light Commercial Vehicle sales figures are very rare to come across, so when they are published it is well worth a full article. The market is up 9% over the first 3 months of the year at 110,396 registrations.

The best seller is not a surprise: the Renault Kangoo has been leading the ‘vehicules utilitaires’ ranking in France since the launch of the first generation in 1997. The current generation has been on sale since January 2008 and convinced 9,256 buyers over the period for a 8.4% market share.

Citroen Berlingo

The Citroen Berlingo takes the 2nd place, up from #3 in 2010, with 7,048 sales and 6.4%, just above the LCV version of the Renault Clio, down 1 spot in #2 with 6.2% of the market. The Fiat Ducato, #4, is the best selling foreign model at 6,378 units and 5.8%. The Renault Trafic is only 3 units below at 5.8% too, a full percentage point above its 2010 level. The only two other foreign models in the Top 15 are the Ford Transit (#9) and Mercedes Sprinter (#14).

Full Top 100 Ranking Table: click on ‘Read more’ below the Fiat Ducato picture.

Fiat Ducato

France February 2011: Clio leads again, C4 close to Top 10 Discover the Top 100 best selling models

Citroen C4

*Thanks to Enrique @ Autoblog for sharing the data! Click on ‘Read more’ below for the Top 100*

Still boosted by December 2010 orders being delivered now, the French car market is up 13% in February at a record-breaking 204,486 registrations. The Renault Clio is #1 for the second month in a row at 5.9% share, just ahead of the Peugeot 207 at 5.7%.

The Renault Twingo slows down but stays 3rd, followed by a very solid Citroen C3 at 3.7%. The Peugeot 206+ increases its share further to a best-ever 3.5%, and the Ford Fiesta is the best selling foreign model this month at #9, with the VW Polo at #10.

The new Citroen C4 continues its progression, now #11 at 4,704 sales and 2.3%, so does the Peugeot 508 at #37 with 1,673 units (0.8%). The Duster is now Dacia’s best seller at #16 and the new Nissan Micra is #42.

Full Top 100 Ranking Table below.

France January 2011: 206+ & new C4 shine, 508 & Latitude arrive Now with Top 100 best selling models

Peugeot 206+

*Thanks to Enrique at Autoblog Espanol for sharing the best-selling models by segment! Check out the Top 100 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ below*

The French car market is up 8% in January at 185,603 registrations, the result of orders made in December to benefit from the last day of scrappage schemes. The Renault Clio takes the lead just above 10,000 sales (5.4%) ahead of the Peugeot 207 at 5.1%, the Renault Twingo at 4.6% and the Citroen C3, strong again in 4th at 3.8%.

The Peugeot 206+ delivers the performance of the month with a best-ever 3.4% share and 5th position with 6,342 sales, an outstanding feat for what is after all a restyled 1998 model. The Citroen C4 II gains more ground at #13 with 4,016 sales (2.2%).

Two new French models appear in the Top 50 for the first time, albeit exclusively through dealership sales: the Peugeot 508 is 39th with 1,354 sales (0.7%) and the Renault Latitude is 49th with 971 sales (0.5%).

More commentaries and Top 100 Ranking Table: click on ‘Read more’ below.

Peugeot 508

France LCV 2010: Renault Kangoo and Clio dominate

Renault Kangoo

The Light Commercial Vehicle market in France is up a very healthy 12% at 417,674 registrations in 2010. For the 13th consecutive year, the Renault Kangoo is the best selling light commercial vehicle in the country, this year with 36,680 sales and 8.8% market share.

The Renault Clio takes 2nd spot with 30,312 units and 7.3%, and the Citroen Berlingo rounds up the podium with 22,456 sales and 5.4%. The Fiat Ducato is the best selling foreign model in 4th at 21,782 units and 5.2% market share.

The three following models in the ranking all fit within 120 units: the Renault Master in #5 (21,301 sales), the Peugeot Partner at #6 (21,237) and the Peugeot 207/206+ at #7 (21,181).

Full Top 10 Ranking Table below.

France December 2010: Peugeot 207 #1 for 4th year in a row

The French market drops only 2% on a record 2009 year with 2,251,736 registrations, and the Peugeot 207 is the best selling car in France for the 4th year in a row with 126,854 sales (5.6% and -3%) ahead of the Renault Clio at 123,730 sales (5.5% and -2%). The 207 was #1 7 times this year, peaking at 6.9% in February vs. 5 times for the Clio and a peak of 6.6% in January.

The Renault Twingo is 3rd again with 92,185 sales (-14%), the Megane (79,511 sales, +1%) and Scenic (75,432, +0.5%) follow. 4th in December at 3.8%, its best share to date, the Citroen C3 II is 6th overall this year with 73,622 sales (3.3%).

The biggest event of the year however is undoubtedly the outstanding 2nd place achieved by the Dacia Sandero in March with 14,498 sales and 6% of the French market, only 163 sales below the 207 that month. The Sandero finished the year in 7th with with 68,016 sales (3% and +71%).

More commentaries, Top 6 December and Top 12 Full Year 2010 below (I will update as more figures come through).

France: 2000-2009 Historical Data now available

Now that Best Selling Cars covers over 150 countries around the globe, I am adding a bit of depth to the site, showcasing some historical model sales data.

The first cab off the rank is France: yearly results from 2000 to 2009 are now available on here. Peugeot 206 then 207, three generations of Renault Clio, Scenic and Megane, the launches of the Renault Modus, Dacia Logan and Citroen C4 Picasso: it’s all in there and much more!

See below for the direct links to the 10 articles.

France November 2010: Clio #1, 22 units off 207 year-to-date!

French car sales dropped less than expected in November at -11% (193,970 registrations), bringing the year-to-date total to 2,023,410 (-2%).

The Renault Clio is the best selling car in France for the third month in a row with 10,732 sales (5.5%) vs. 10,627 for the Peugeot 207 (5.5% also). This brings the two cars unbelievably close year-to-date: 114,056 sales for the 207 vs. 114.034 for the Clio! The 207/Clio fight has never been so close!

In 3rd, the Renault Megane delivers its best 2010 market share at 4.2%, ahead of the Twingo, stabilising around 4% over the last quarter. Excellent performance of the Peugeot 206+ in 6th with 2010 best 6,180 sales, and the Peugeot 107 in 11th with 2010 best 4,157 sales (2.1%).

The Dacia Duster climbs to best-ever 17th with 3,241 sales, but still has a 6 month-waiting list so should be ranked higher if demand was met. After an outstanding October score, the Citroen DS3 falls back to #18 with 3,177 sales, still double the score of the Mini however.

There are two newbies in the Top 50: the Citroen C4 II is #38 with 1,366 sales and the Nissan Juke is very solid at #39 (1,362) and could enjoy the same success as the Qashqai.

For more commentaries and Full Top 75 Ranking Table, click on ‘Read more’ below the C4 II picture.