Paris (AFP)
The French automotive market grew in 2019, so far resisting the headwinds that are accumulating in an automotive industrial sector disturbed by the challenges of the ecological transition.
After 211,193 new registrations in December, a jump of 27.7%, car manufacturers put a total of 2.2 million new cars into service last year in France, said the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers (CCFA) ).
In a sector turned upside down by the downturn in the global economy and the challenges of transition and electrification, French brands alone accounted for more than half of registrations in France (106,415 cars) in December, an increase of 17 .09% compared to December 2018.
"2019 was an ambivalent and complex year, torn between good sales and the crisis in the industrial sector," commented François Roudier, CCFA, for AFP.
The two national manufacturers PSA (Marques Citroën, Peugeot, DS and Opel) and Renault (Renault, Dacia and Alpine) thus posted an increase of 0.88% over the year with 1.25 million vehicles registered.
Foreign brands advanced faster, especially at the end of the year, with a jump of 40.6% in registrations in December (104,778 units), which brings to 906,435 the total number of non-French cars put into service (+3.22 %).
The tightening from January 1 of the ecological "penalty", a tax which must be paid by buyers of the most CO2-emitting vehicles, is behind the acceleration of sales of large-capacity cars at the end of the year, a windfall effect which mainly benefited foreign brands, said the CCFA.
On the sharing of the cake between French and foreign manufacturers, the former saw their market share decrease slightly over the year, to 56.81% against 57.37%, while foreigners saw theirs progress to 43.19 % versus 42.63%.
In detail, PSA maintained its first place on the French market with 708,438 registered cars (+ 1.35%), which gives it almost 32% of the national market. Opposite, the Renault group has 549,283 registrations (+ 0.29%), or 24.81% of market share.
- VW takes 4th place from Dacia -
Brand by brand, Renault remains the first in the hearts of French motorists, with 407,159 cars launched on the roads (+ 0.23%), followed by Peugeot (379,582 units, -2.55%), then Citroën (235,110 units, + 9.94%).
The German Volkswagen delighted this year the fourth step of the podium at Dacia (Renault group), with 149,105 cars against 138,977.
Among German manufacturers, Volkswagen (Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini brands) and Daimler (Mercedes and Smart) posted double-digit increases over the year (+ 10.35% for the first and + 10.18% for the second).
Among other manufacturers, Nissan, an ally of Renault (brands Nissan and Infiniti) suffered a 29.76% drop in its registrations, despite a strong surge in December (+ 82%).
And FCA (brands Fiat, Jeep, Alpha Romeo, Maserati, Lancia and Dodge) being merged with PSA, also suffered setbacks with a decline of 12.75% in its French registrations.
- Diesel drops to 34% -
The figures published by the CCFA illustrate the collapse of diesel sales in France, whose market share fell to 34% in 2019 from 39% in 2018, 64% in 2014, and 72% at their highest in 2011- 12, according to the CCFA.
Gasoline vehicles saw their market share increase to 57.9% compared to 54.7% last year. That of electric vehicles also increased, to 1.9% against 1.4% last year, while that of hybrids swelled to 5.7% against 4.9%.
The trend will accelerate "with 25 new electric or hybrid rechargeable models arriving on the market in 2020", commented Mr. Roudier, however regretting a "too low" number of charging stations (25,000 throughout the country).
On the industrial side, the Automobile Platform (PFA), which defends the interests of the sector, recently estimated that 15,000 jobs were threatened, only in the diesel sector.
"This is a brutal declaration which mainly impacts single-product equipment manufacturers who have difficulty in converting", underlined Mr. Roudier, citing the example of Bosch to Rodez, specialized in injectors for diesel engines.
© 2020 AFP