Drivers question French car quality

World's motorists likely to name Japanese and German brands as most reliability, even French do not rate them highly

THE RELIABILITY of French cars has been called into question in an international survey of drivers.

Almost a quarter of a million motorists in France, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil and China were asked to name the makes of vehicle they trusted the most.

Even in France, where the survey was carried out by L'Automobile magazine, only 22% of respondents named French brands Citroën, Renault or Peugeot spontaneously when asked for a reliable make of car.

Japanese brands scored best in France - at 67% - followed by German makes including Audi and BMW at 48%.

Respondents in other countries had a similar opinion of French cars: with between 25% and 32% of people considering them reliable.

The survey of 220,000 motorists was carried out by the Motor Presse group, which publishes car magazines around the world.

Olaru Radian - Fotolia.com