All the information on the French automobile market in 2024

It is now time to take stock. Financial for the manufacturers, and accounting for the analysts of all kinds who have compiled the registration data for the year which has just passed. A 2024 financial year without surprises and not necessarily brilliant with often heavy news and significant events on a global scale : China's decline, the crisis at the Volkswagen group, the very probable Honda/Nissan/Mitsubishi merger. And a French market which, like many others, is marking time.

2024, a bad year

183,662 new vehicles were registered in December, a small percentage better than in December 2023, but with one more working day. Clearly, the year ended with fairly weak momentum, making it impossible to raise the bar. With 1,718,412 deliveries in 2024, the French market fell by 3% compared to 2023 and still remains below pre-Covid levels by around 500,000 units. A gigantic chasm which will force many manufacturers to review their strategy by reducing the number of factories and playing the card of job cuts in the longer term. This has already started at Volkswagen.

“The three main sales channels all fell to varying degrees over the year, but it was the corporate channel (14% of the market) which fell the most – by 12% – highlighting their lack of investment linked to economic uncertainties. . Individuals (46% of the market) and long-term rental companies (15% of the market), both down 3%, more or less follow the overall market trend. (AAAData).“

However, the year started well with sales increasing over the first three months of the year before starting to decline from May onwards. It was in fact a trompe l'oeil called “social leasing”which has made it possible to significantly increase the registrations of certain aging models such as the Renault Twingo E-Tech.

This year, the sky could have darkened a little more with the tightening of the penalty but with the motion of censure passed in December, the negotiations were stopped. The 2024 scale will therefore apply this year while waiting for the Assembly to move forward with its debates. On the other hand, the mission promises to be more difficult for electricians who see the maximum bonus of €7,000 increase to €4,000 for the less well-off. This should therefore once again benefit the second-hand market, which has also increased by more than 3% in 2024.

The electrics have stalled

Given the performance achieved in 2023 by electric vehicles, we logically expected an even greater increase in 2024 as the offer expanded. It was nothing of the sort. The market share of vehicles without combustion engines even fell in certain months, despite social leasing which nevertheless did everything to boost sales in the first half. Social leasing alone represented 17% of electric sales in France over the full year, amounting to 290,614 units. Despite this, electric sales fell by 3%, falling to their 2023 market share. Status quo, therefore, and this is not what manufacturers were expecting, who will have to reach an even higher level in 2025 to avoid the famous CO2 fines.

2024 was ultimately the high point for non-rechargeable hybrids, which increased by 24% over the year to reach 43% market share. Also note the impressive increase in plug-in hybrids in December (+ 45%), which can be explained by the end of the exemption from the weight penalty this year.

And the best seller is…

Unsurprisingly, the Renault Clio is the best-selling car of 2024 in France. It is a short length ahead of the Peugeot 208, with the Dacia Sandero closing the podium. The Tesla Model Y, which was 8th last year, lost two places but maintains very good momentum despite a logical slowdown in its sales, which is entering its fifth year of career. Toyota, for its part, achieved the feat of placing two models in the Top 10which has not happened for a very long time for a foreign brand.

Another sign of the times: the gradual disappearance of compact sedans at the top of the ranking. Only the Peugeot 308 held up well in 7th place, notably thanks to sales to fleets and businesses (especially in SW station wagons). Its diamond competitor, the Mégane, was withdrawn in April and does not even appear in the Top 100 sales. Regarding the Golf, the performance is also timid at 28th place (15,450 registrations). The German having had the spotlight stolen by her own camp with a T-Roc which perfectly illustrates the current situation: SUVs have taken over. And fortunately for Renault, the Austral is doing well, at the gates of the Top 10.