The automobile market is broken down in France. Lhe industry has had a difficult year in 2024, as shown by the figures announced by the Automotive Platform on Wednesday January 1. The electric sector is particularly worrying, especially since the European Union intends to ban the sale of new thermal vehicles in 2035.. Franceinfo explains why the engine seized up.
Because sales are down
Sales of new cars in France fell by 3.2% in 2024 compared to 2023, according to the Automobile Platform (PFA), which represents manufacturers and large equipment suppliers in the sector. In total, 1,718,416 private vehicles were registered last year, compared to 1,774,729 cars in 2023, which had been synonymous with improvement.
“The year was contrasted between a positive first half and a catastrophic second marked by political and economic uncertainties”summarizes Marie-Laure Nivot, “market intelligence” manager at the AAA Data firm, specializing in the analysis of the automobile market. The drop is even 22% compared to 2019, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic, recalls AFP. For economist Bernard Jullien, a specialist in the automobile industry, these results also reflect “Manufacturers have difficulty offering reasonable prices”.
In detail, sales of private electric vehicles fell by a little more than 2.4% in 2024 (291,143 compared to 298,525 in 2023), particularly at the end of the year. However, they had jumped 47% between 2022 and 2023. Thermal vehicles (petrol and diesel) also fell, going from 813,312 sales to 632,709 sales.
As for SUVs, vehicles often criticized because they are more polluting, business on the other hand is doing well, notes the research firm AAA Data in its conclusions for the year. Hybrid vehicles also continue to grow, going from 595,251 to 735,288 vehicles sold.
At the European level, during the first 11 months of the year, the European market experienced a very slight increase year-on-year (+0.4%), the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported on December 19, cited by the 'AFP. On the other hand, electric vehicles also plunged by 5.4%. They now represent only 13.4% of registrations.
Because social plans have been announced and others are feared
While the automobile market is in poor morale, employees of large groups are not doing much better. “If 2024 is the new normal [en matière de ventes de voitures] after the catch-up process in 2022 and 2023, there will be a sales deficit of 400 to 500,000 vehicles in France, and 2.5 million at European level compared to the pre-Covid period. This could lead to an acceleration of the restructuring that we are already observing.”analyzes the economist Bernard Jullien, for whom the automobile industry is “at the crossroads”.
In France, the year 2024 was marked by several social plans among automobile subcontractors, especially since the transition to electric requires fewer personnel. Michelin has announced the closure of two factories (1,250 jobs at risk), Valeo plans to cut nearly 1,000 jobs on eight French sites. The Fonderie de Bretagne, 95% of whose turnover is generated by Renault, is threatened with closure (350 jobs).
In Europe, Ford announced 4,000 new job cuts by the end of 2027, mainly in Germany and the United Kingdom. The industrialist Schaeffler plans to cut 4,700 jobs at 15 sites across Europe (including ten in Germany). At the end of December, Europe's leading car manufacturer, Volkswagen, set Germany in turmoil, saying it wanted to end more than 35,000 jobs in the country by 2030 in order to reduce its costs and restore its competitiveness. The agreement should avoid factory closures and layoffs. This will notably involve retirements that are not replaced.
Because the transition to electric is difficult
The electric vehicle sector faces several challenges, particularly expensive prices. In a study published in 2023, the Cetelem Observatory highlighted that the difference between a thermal and electric vehicle of the same model could reach more than 10,000 euros, citing French examples.
At the same time, the ecological bonus for electric vehicles has fallen. At the beginning of December, the maximum aid increased from 7,000 to 4,000 euros for the lowest-income households. And if “social leasing”, reserved for the most modest households, must be renewed, the elimination of the conversion bonus has been removed by a government decree. This decreasing aid could stop the desire to purchase, so “that a buyer [de véhicule électrique] out of two would have given up on their purchase in the absence of aid”, according to Clément Molizon, general delegate of the National Association for the Development of Electric Mobility (Avere-France).
However, this unfavorable context comes at a key moment for manufacturers. Before the ban on the sale in the European Union of thermal engine cars by 2035, they will have tot this year reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles sold, under penalty of heavy fines. To achieve these objectives, French manufacturers will have to sell 22% of electric cars, compared to 16.9% this year. A “huge problem” for Marc Mortureux, the general director of the Automotive Platform, quoted by AFP. European industry, faced with the growing threat from Chinese industry, can at least welcome the introduction of a surcharge of up to 35% on electric cars made in China. A way to protect a sector in great difficulty.
