PARIS -- New-car registrations in France fell by 2.7 percent in February compared to the same month in 2019, with sales of electrified vehicles (conventional and plug-in hybrids, and full-electric vehicles) remaining at a high level under the EU's new carbon dioxide emissions target of 95 grams per km.
There were 167,784 registrations in February on 19 selling days, industry association CCFA said, the same as in 2019. Sales through February were down by 7.8 percent, following a 14 percent decline in January.
Fleet emissions in France ticked up to 102 g/km from 96 g/km in January, however, as that month's surge of electric and plug-in hybrid models faded somewhat.
Hybrid vehicles overall had an 11 percent market share, the same as in January. But plug-in hybrids lost market share to 2.3 percent in February, down from 2.8 percent in January. And sales of full-electric vehicles fell to a 5.6 percent market share, compared to 8.2 percent in January.
Automakers purposely limited registrations of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles at the end of 2019 to ensure maximum impact on their emissions in 2020. Vehicles with emissions of 49 g/km or under are eligible for EU "supercredits," counting as two sales in 2020. Automakers that miss their targets will have to pay fines of 95 per euros per gram over the limit, per car.
The biggest winners among brands with significant volume were PSA's premium brand DS, with sales surging 113 percent after the introduction of the DS 3 Crossback small SUV last spring; BMW, up 37 percent; Audi, up 31 percent; and Hyundai, up 29 percent. Conversely, large drops were recorded by Suzuki, down 37 percent; Dacia, down 27 percent; Ford, down 26 percent and Fiat, down 25 percent.
Among French automakers, PSA Group sales were steady, with a decline of 0.5 percent. The gains by DS offset a 6.2 percent decline at Citroen and a 13 percent decline for Opel. Peugeot sales increased slightly, by 1.7 percent. Renault Group lost 9.8 percent, with Renault brand down 3.1 percent in addition to Dacia's sharp drop.
Asian automakers showed strong growth, with Hyundai group up 16 percent behind strong growth at Hyundai brand and a gain of 5 percent at Kia. Toyota group sales were up 14 percent, with Toyota brand up 10 percent and Lexus up 90 percent, but at low volumes. Nissan sales rose 14 percent.
- Click here to download February and 2-month French sales by automaker and brand.
The picture was mixed for German automakers. Volkswagen Group was up 1.4 percent, with strong gains at Audi, Seat (up 10 percent) and Skoda (up 6.8 percent) offsetting a drop of 14 percent at VW brand. BMW Group was up 19 percent, with BMW brand sales offsetting an 18 percent drop at Mini. Daimler sales fell by 12 percent, with Mercedes down 1.6 percent and Smart sales falling by 84 percent to just 113 units.
In other data from CCFA, SUV and crossovers made up 39 percent of the French market, a gain of two percentage points. Light-utility vehicle sales increased by 2.9 percent.
