French sales fall 35% in July on chip shortage, COVID

PARIS -- Registrations in France plummeted by about 35 percent in July from the same period a year ago, according to data from the country's automakers’ lobby CCFA.

Registrations were 115,713 last month, CCFA said. Sales were down 33 percent compared with pre-pandemic levels in July 2019.

The French market is up by about 16 percent over the first seven months, the association said.

The CCFA said the global chip shortage and a new surge in COVID-19 infections are weighing on the prospects for a strong rebound in new-car sales.

The association currently forecasts growth in the range of 9 percent to 10 percent, but that could be revised down. "We think it might be difficult to achieve 1.8 million of sales this year," a CCFA-PFA spokesperson said on Sunday.

Last year, French registrations fell to 1.65 million from 2.21 million in 2019 as the coronavirus pandemic brought car factories to a halt.

A lack of crucial semiconductors and uncertainty surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic are affecting most automakers, including Renault and Stellantis.

Another factor was the end of enhanced trade-in and low-emissions vehicle purchase incentives on June 30. The incentives were put in place on June 1, 2020, as part of a multi-billion euro French government coronavirus relief plan for the automotive industry. 

Among volume brands, only Jeep recorded an increase, with a 35 percent gain. Among brands that did better than the overall market were Mini, down 2.1 percent; Volkswagen brand, down 9.7 percent; Hyundai, down 11 percent; and Audi, down 14 percent. 

Brands that recorded the biggest monthly losses were Mitsubishi, down 83 percent; Ford, down 61 percent; Renault, down 60 percent; and Fiat, down 50 percent.

At Stellantis group, in addition to Fiat and Jeep, Peugeot sales fell 36 percent, Citroen was down 35 percent, Opel was down 36 percent and DS lost 23 percent.

Renault’s budget brand Dacia saw sales fall by 21 percent.

At VW Group, Skoda sales were down 32 percent and Seat sales were down 30 percent.

BMW brand sales fell by 22 percent, Mercedes-Benz sales fell 16 percent and Volvo lost 33 percent. 

Among Asian brands, Toyota was down by 22 percent, Nissan lost 49 percent, Kia was down 30 percent and Suzuki fell 37 percent.

By powertrain, gasoline engines made up 42 percent of sales through July, with diesel at 23 percent. Hybrids (full hybrid and plug-in) made up 25 percent of the market, with plug-ins at 8 percent. Full-electric vehicles were 7.7 percent. 

CO2 emissions rose to 113 grams per km in July from 108 g/km in June.