In France, the best-selling hybrid car is a surprise

Electrics have certainly made good progress in recent months, but not as much as hybrids. The dynamic could also be confirmed if the tax incentives for the purchase of “zero emissions” were further reduced in 2025. A blow that simple hybrids do not really have to worry about, as they escape most of the time to the CO2 penalty as well as the weight penalty. Between January and September, “HEV” (Hybrid Electric Vehicles) saw their sales increase significantly in France, even if the 36% increase compared to 2023 reported by NGC-DATA must be taken with a grain of salt. Because they combine both classic hybrids like Toyota Yaris and micro-hybrids like Ford Puma. However, the latter do not allow you to drive 100% electric and therefore do not really provide fuel savings compared to sober gasoline without electrification. The fact remains that simple hybrids are on the rise and that they are dominated by a model that we did not necessarily expect so high..

A Japanese…more French than all the others

This is the Toyota Yaris Cross, which won over some 24,000 buyers in France over the first 9 months of the year. It is ahead of our well-known Renault Clio E-Tech by a few hundred examples, so much so that the Japanese is not at all guaranteed to finish the year in the lead. But all the same, we are surprised to see this Toyota measuring up to the Clio, 208 and other Capturs. Because if the Yaris Cross combines obvious advantages – sobriety, SUV bodywork well in tune with the times –, it turns out to be less homogeneous than the competition. Less comfortable and livable than a Peugeot 2008, less well finished and less modular than a Renault Captur, less pleasant to drive than its little sister Yaris, this Japanese battles in a category where the adversaries are very sharp. And not just the French…

The 5 best-selling hybrid cars between January and September 2024

1. Toyota Yaris Cross : 24 066 ex
2. Renault Clio : 23 851 ex.
3. Toyota Yaris : 23 514 ex.
4. Renault Captur: 22 543 ex.
5. Renault Austral : 19 977 ex.

But the “made in France”, in Valencienne, its sober mechanics (in 116 as in 130 hp) and above all its remarkable reliability demonstrate that the expectations of motorists remain simple…and all the power of Toyota's hybrid reputation. Something to reassure, too, at a time of the electrification of engines and the digitalization of passenger compartments. Let us also add that unlike its rivals, the Yaris Cross has an all-wheel drive version with a small electric motor placed on the rear axle which cuts off above 70 km/h. A good choice for residents of mountainous regions who face snow for a good part of the winter. Here again, a typical Toyota pragmatism.