French sales rebound by 192% in March, but remain low

PARIS -- French registrations rebounded by 192 percent in March compared with the same month last year, when dealers were closed for half the month because of coronavirus lockdowns.

Almost every volume brand reported triple-digit sales growth, but the biggest winners were Suzuki, up 690 percent; Jeep, up 673 percent; Opel, up 473 percent; and Seat, up 430 percent.

There were 182,774 registrations in March on 23 selling days, industry group CCFA said. There were 22 selling days in March 2020; adjusted for that, sales rose by 179 percent.

Sales in March 2020 were down by 72 percent after a nationwide lockdown was imposed in mid-month. Sales this March were still down 20 percent below the figure from March 2019, when 225,818 vehicles were sold. 

The March figure was well below the average 210,000 total usually registered for the month, a CCFA spokesman told Reuters.

French dealers remain under a partial lockdown, with sales and vehicle deliveries by appointment. The French government on Wednesday imposed stricter coronavirus limits, including expanding a ban on trips of 10 km (6 miles) to all regions and closing schools for at least three weeks, as cases continued to surge. 

Sales at Stellantis, the new group created by the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, were up 216 percent, with Peugeot up 187 percent, Citroen up 255 percent, DS up 96 percent; and Fiat up 223 percent, in addition to the strong gains at Opel and Jeep.

Stellantis’ market share for the month was 46 percent, with Renault Group at 28 pecent.

Renault Group sales increased by 126 percent, with Renault brand up 107 percent and Dacia up 211 percent.

VW Group sales were up 300 percent, with VW brand gaining 281 percent, Audi up 310 percent and Skoda up 303 percent. Seat’s new performance brand Cupra recorded 244 sales for the month in France.

BMW brand sales were up 242 percent, with Mini gaining 131 percent. Mercedes-Benz sales were up 261 percent. Volvo gained 122 percent, and Ford sales were up 232 percent.

Among Asian automakers, Toyota sales increased by 168 percent, Nissan was up 207 percent, Hyundai was up 152 percent and Kia 111 percent.

Diesel sales fell to 23 percent in March, the lowest figure since the mid-1990s. 

For the first three months of this year, full-hybrid vehicle sales were 15.9 percent; plug-in hybrids captured 7.1 percent of the market. Full-electric vehicle sales were 6.9 percent. Gasoline vehicles had a 44 percent share. 

Dual-fuel LPG sales continued to rise, with 9,567 vehicles sold through March for a 2.2 share after a major push by Dacia. Last year in the same period just 518 such vehicles were sold for a 0.1 percent share.