The French automotive market has enough to drive all analysts in the sector goat. While new car registrations have been at their lowest since the start of 2022, August was the month of stabilization with an increase of 3.79% compared to August 2021. Usually, this period is considered the most hollow of the year.
Confirmation was expected in September, a period that did not disappoint with 141,137 registrations, an increase of 5.46% compared to the same year in 2019 (133,830 registrations).
But this good news does not hide a deficit in the French automotive market. Over the first nine months of 2022, the drop is 11.77% with 1,112,072 new car registrations compared to 1,260,373 in 2021 (January to September).
Worse still, compared to 2019, the post-Covid reference year, it’s the berezina. The market is down 32.25% after enjoying two more business days. Thus, from January to September 2019, 1,641,367 new passenger cars had been registered. The comparison of the months of September 2019 and 2022 also shows a drop of 18.62% (173,433 registrations against 141,142).
This improvement should be taken with a grain of salt according to Julien Billon, general manager of AAA Data, who underlines that he “would be premature to take these two consecutive monthly results as a lasting return to a positive and promising dynamic […] Market fundamentals remain fragile. Inflation continues to weigh on purchasing power and the production of new cars should suffer for several more months from the global shortage of semiconductors”.
Electric vehicle priority for semiconductors
Today, the priority of car manufacturers is to be regularly supplied with electronic components so that production lines are not shut down, as was the case recently at Renault or Stellantis (Peugeot) . And when semiconductors arrive, they are mainly dedicated to electric vehicles.
According to François Roudier, spokesperson for PFA, explaining himself to our colleagues at BFM TV, this trend is dictated by “the need to ‘launch’ this electricity market and escape penalties from Europe in the event of a poor CO2 balance of their sales”.
In the first three quarters of 2022, 100% electric vehicles represent a market share of 12.7%, far behind gasoline cars (37.6%) and hybrids (29.4%), but almost four points diesel (16.4%) which, despite everything, is still doing well in Europe. As for plug-in hybrids, which fell by 13%, their market share stood at 8%. Superethanol (or E85) has only represented 0.9% of the market since the start of the year, despite some enthusiasm.
Renault saved by Dacia, Stellantis by Alfa-Romeo and Maserati
As for the car manufacturers, it is rather grimace soup for some, like the Renault group which suffered a drop in September of 4.96% and 7.97% since the start of the year. Fortunately, Dacia is there to save the day with +2.60% in September and +3.78% for the first three quarters.
Stellantis gained +1.68% in September with Peugeot (+13.44%), Opel (+6.80%), DS (+1.12%), Alfa Romeo (+148.95%) and Maserati ( +112.50%). On the other hand, since January 2022, the group as a whole has fallen by 15.51%, except for the two Italian brands which have posted a positive result.
The Volkswagen group enjoyed monthly growth of 6.67% (VW +6.98%; Skoda +63.21%; Cupra +251.39% and Porsche +27.72%). However, the group is down 21.34% over the first three quarters of 2022.
BMW (+11.97%), Toyota (+56.04%), Ford (+35.46%), Mercedes-Daimler (+52.75%) and Volvo (+33.76%) are in the green in September, but point to negative over the first nine months of the year.
If the Hyundai/Kia group has been at +4% since January, September was not happy for Hyundai (-13.94%), unlike its cousin Kia (+1.51%).
The good surprise comes from Mitsubishi: +46.10% in September 2022 and +46.24% between January and September 2022.
Regarding pure electric, Tesla boasts +6.13%, but has remained in the red since January (-14.87%). MG Motors and Lynk&Co posted increases of 353.26% and 393.62% respectively. Since the beginning of the year, the two Chinese manufacturers have registered 6,110 vehicles for the first and 2014 for the second.
Electric: sedans dominate SUVs
You see them everywhere on the road and yet the SUV is not the most popular body type with customers. Thus, since 2020, it is the sedan which dominates the SUV in the sector of electric engines with 84,352 copies sold against 32,131 in the first eight months of 2022.
On the other hand, we note a reversal of the trend with rechargeable hybrids (or PHEV) where the SUV represented 112,804 units out of a total of 141,001 in 2021, according to figures published by AAA Data.
Peugeot 208, Renault Clio and Dacia Sandero, queens of sales
Over the first nine months of the year, the winning trio is the Peugeot 208 II (67,866 VP) ahead of the Renault Clio V (47,589 private sales) and the Dacia Sandero III (46,032). The Top 10 for the first nine months is monopolized by five Stellantis models (Peugeot and Citroën) and five Renault/Dacia models.
The first electric is the Dacia Spring in 20th place with 13,022 units.