The French market increased it sales by 3.2% for the year 2007 with 2 064 633 sold vehicles compared to 2,00,549 units over the same period in 2006. The performance is slightly worse than 2005 when 2,067,789 were sold. Despite its planned replacement due to appear next year, the Renault Megane model topped the sales chart with 155,336 vehicles.
The Renault Clio ranked second with 145,345 delivered vehicles while the recently launched Twingo took the seventh rank with 52,134 vehicles. Globally Renault’s sales decreased by 6% in 2007 which contrasts with Dacia. Indeed, its Romanian subsidiary recorded a 74.1% increase with 32,635 vehicles compared to 18,742 in 2006. Dacia sold more vehicles than Nissan which recorded a slight increase of 4,2% to 32,263 units.
PSA Peugeot Citroen recorded a 2% increase with 626,798 vehicles compared with 614,728 units over the same period in 2006, but situation differs between its two brands. Citroen recorded a strong 7.5% increase while Peugeot scored a 2% decrease. 2007 was a good year for Citroen whose best model, the C4, ranked fourth with 119,345, a 5.8% increase compared to 2006. Despite ist old age, the C3 performed well by taking the sixth rank with 61,522 units. Peugeot models still topped the chart with the third rank for the 207, 131,623 units and a 6.4% increase. The outgoing 307 took the fifth rank with 65,800 vehicles. Surprisingly, the 407 family ranked eighth with 41,710 vehicles. 2008 will likely be a tougher year for the French saloon as the recently launched Laguna will iikely increase its sales.
Overall, the French car makers had a 51.84% market share in 2007 compared with 53.34% over the same period in 2006. December sales have been difficult for the French brands due to the new CO2 tax that has started this year on January 1st. Indeed, foreign brands, especially premium’s, tried to sell as many cars as possible. In December, Porsche recorded a 319% increase while Land Rover increased is sales by 300%! The first foreign model is the Ford Focus with 40,652 vehicles while Volkswagen sold 39,559 vehicles in 2007.
Volkswagen took the first rank among imported brands with 142,600 units while Ford replaced Opel at the second rank with 103,000 units thanks to a 7.2% increase over the same period in 2006. Opel fell at the fourth rank with 99,732 units behind Toyota which recorded a 6.3% increase to 100,732 vehicles. The Fiat 500 didn’t have an impact on Fiat’s sales as the Italian group sold 53,113 vehicles. The future small Alfa Romeo and Lancia Delta will likely increase the company’s sales in 2008.
Among the premium car makers, Mercedes-Benz took the first rank with 61,632 units. BMW took the second rank with 49,548 vehicles and achieved its 2007 target to overtake Audi. With 48,235 vehicles, the third German brand still recorded a 9.6% increase but could not resist to the 21.8% increase performed by BMW. The next years promise to be better for Ingoldstadt.
Smaller car makers also performed well. Suzuki recorded a 20.8% increase with 30,841 vehicles compared to 25,523 units over the same period in 2006. Honda recorded a 33% increase to 15,631 vehicles.
For 2008, the new CO2 tax will likely penalise premium brands and favours French car makers and Fiat models as smaller models will be less taxed. January sales will give a first glimpse at the trend for this year.
