French car market buoyant

The market for cars, especially new models, is strong. Market growth was over 3% over the past 6 months, with 1.13 million new cars registered. 240,000 new cars were registered in June, an increase of 1.6% over last year, according to the French Automobile Manufacturers' Committee (CCFA).

Renault still accounts for just over a quarter of the market, despite a small drop in June, while the PSA group, which manufactures Peugeot and Citroën cars, accounts for another quarter market share. In 2016, Renault, Peugeot and Citroën together took 54% of the market share with 1,078,433 sales, while foreign brands increased 6.8% to 936,753 sales.

German manufacturer Volkswagen trails behind the French brands, taking 11% of the market share, with Dacia, Ford and Toyota also taking a significant share each.

Just over half of cars sold have diesel engines. Electric cars had a 1,08% share of the new car market in France in 2016.