FRANCE: FURTHER DECLINE IN THE AUTO MARKET, ELECTRIFIED MODELS DOMINATE
PARIS (Reuters) – The French automobile market suffered its tenth consecutive decline in March as a result of supply difficulties and economic uncertainties, without however disrupting the movement towards electrification which became the majority in the first quarter.
Over the January-March period, electrified models (gasoline-electric hybrids and pure electrics) accounted for nearly 40% of new car registrations, compared to 38.3% for conventional gasoline-powered models, according to data reported Friday by the Automotive Platform (PFA).
In 2021, gasoline was still the majority.
Overall registrations of new cars in France fell by 19.53% year on year in March.
It registered 147,079 private vehicles in France last month, reported the PFA. March had 23 working days this year, as in 2021.
Over three months, the automotive market is now down 17.3%. You have to go back to May 2021 to find a month of growth, and the uncertainties linked to the war in Ukraine and the shortages of electronic components do not yet make it possible to establish a forecast for 2022, said a spokesperson for the PFA.
In 2020, the French automobile market fell sharply due to the coronavirus pandemic, then stabilized (+0.5%) in 2021.
Registrations of new cars from the Stellantis group, which notably includes the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, Fiat and Jeep brands, fell last month by 29.62% compared to a year earlier.
The Renault group (Renault, Dacia and Alpine brands) saw its registrations in France decline by 15.11% at an annual rate in March.
(Written by Camille Raynaud, with Gilles Guillaume, edited by Matthieu Protard)