French sales rise 10% in November, led by big gains at Tesla

PARIS -- French new-car sales rose by 9.8 percent in November compared with 2021, the fourth straight month of increases, with big gains at Tesla, Ford, Volkswagen brand, Mini and Toyota.

There were 133,961 sales in the month on 20 selling days, industry group PFA said Thursday.

After 11 months, sales were down 8.7 percent compared with 2021. November sales were still 23 percent below pre-pandemic levels from 2019, however, and a drop in orders in October served as a warning sign that demand may be waning on economic worries, market analyst AAA Data said. 

"On closer look, the market’s good performance is more due to deliveries from earlier orders," Julien Billon of AAA Data said.

Tesla was also a big factor: The brand’s November deliveries alone accounted for a net gain of 3,600 units for the month, according to the PFA. Sales were up 167 percent. Other big movers for the month were Ford, up 111 percent; VW, up 48 percent; Mini, up 43 percent; and Toyota, up 42 percent.