French sales up 5.5% in September to extend gains

PARIS -- French new car registrations increased by 5.5 percent in September to extend their rebound, after being hit by the fallout from the war in Ukraine in the first half of the year.

Among volume brands, Skoda (+63 percent), Toyota (+60 percent) and Mercedes and Skoda were the biggest winners.

Sales for the month were 141,142, according to industry group PFA. 

That followed a pick-up in sales starting in August. Earlier in the year sales saw steep monthly declines as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused multiple supply chain disruptions.

Over the first nine months of 2022, new car registrations are still down nearly 12 percent to 1.11 million.

By group, Stellantis sales were up 1.7 percent, led by a 13 percent gain at Peugeot. Renault Group sales fell 5 percent, as a 2.6 percent increase at Dacia did not offset a decline of 8.6 percent at Renault. Volkswagen, the third-largest group by sales, saw an increase of  6.7 percent, led by Skoda's gains.

The Peugeot 208 was the top seller through September, with 67,866 sales, followed by the Renault Clio at 47,589. Among the top 10 selling models, Stellantis and Renault Group models each had five spots.

CO2 emissions were 98.3 grams per km, the lowest level ever recorded by the PFA.

Full-electric vehicles had a 16 percent market share for the month.

Bloomberg contributed to this report