BEVs boom in November’s French EV market
09 January 2024
Registrations of electric vehicles (EVs) continued their upward trend in France, as battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) marked a big improvement in November. José Pontes, data director at EV-volumes.com, analyses the month’s figures.
The French new-car market saw sizeable growth in November, and this was replicated in EV registrations, totalling 45,281 deliveries. Consisting of BEVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), EV deliveries grew 39% year-on-year, representing 30% of the overall market.
BEV registrations increased 52% compared with November 2022 with 30,769 units, equating to a 20% share of the overall new-car market. This means one out of every five new cars sold in France in November was an all-electric model. PHEVs totalled 14,512 units but could not generate the same level of growth, up 18% on the same point last year, accounting for 10% of the overall market.
The dramatic increase in BEV deliveries meant the powertrain posted an EV market share of 68% in November compared to PHEVs with 32%. Between January and November, all-electric models represented 64% of EV registrations, while PHEVs held 36%. Looking at the overall market share, electric vehicles climbed to 26%, including a 16% stake for BEVs.
Full hybrids (HEVs) saw deliveries increase 37% in November, contrasting with a 1% growth for petrol, and diesel’s drop of 28%. The improvement of electrified powertrains helped generate an overall market increase of 14% to 152,713 units. However, this figure is still below pre-pandemic registrations, down 12% on November 2019.
A surge of registrations can be expected in December, as models coming from China such as the Dacia Spring, the MG4 and Tesla Model 3 will be by 2024’s CO2 emission-related subsidies.
Tesla’s top table
Tesla dominated the French EV market in November, with the Model 3 and Model Y topping the table in first and second respectively. The Model 3 totalled 6,081 units, a record performance for the brand in the country, and making it the second-best-selling passenger car in the overall French market.
The Tesla Model Y posted 3,218 registrations, putting it second in the EV table and 10th in the overall market. With the Model 3 losing access to subsidies in the new year, the crossover could see a growth in deliveries if its sibling struggles with sales.
Third place went to the Dacia Spring with 2,557 deliveries, while the MG4 secured fourth with 1,871 units. Both vehicles were also affected by a delivery peak before incentive changes.
Then came the Fiat 500e in fifth, followed by the Renault Megane EV, narrowly securing the title of best-selling domestic model. It fended off the Peugeot 308 which had a record month of PHEV registrations at 1,411 units, with the BEV version adding only 53 units to its total.
The Renault Twingo EV provided a surprise in eighth. The nine-year-old model recorded its best result in over a year with 1,059 deliveries.
Looking at the bottom half of the table, there were plenty of vehicles posting strong figures. The Mercedes-Benz GLC PHEV ended the month in 13th with 830 registrations. Then came the Skoda Enyaq with a record 600 registrations to place it in 14th, making it the best-selling Volkswagen (VW) Group model.
Another German brand showing strong form was BMW with its iX1 in 16th place, hitting 530 deliveries for its second record month in a row. The Peugeot 408 PHEV placed inside the top 20 for the first time, with a best of 467 units putting it in 19th.
Outside of the top 20, the Ford Mustang Mach-E surprised with a record month of 391 registrations. The BMW i4 made good progress with 387 deliveries, as well as Fiat’s 600e crossover posting 352 units in its third month on the market.
No VW brand models were present in the table. Meanwhile, its group siblings, the Skoda Enyaq and Cupra Born, were able to outperform the ID.4 (405 units) and ID.3 (370 units).
Top two tied up
Between January and November, the top two positions were already tied up, with the Tesla Model Y coming out over 5,500 units ahead of the second-place Dacia Spring. The crossover has never won the title in France, although Tesla did taste success with the Model 3 in 2021.
The Peugeot e-208 sat in third, almost 6,000 deliveries behind the SUV, but saw deliveries slow with its refreshed version. The hatchback was closely followed by the Fiat 500e, however, the Italian city car had its own problems as the 600e gained popularity.
Both models are heavily threatened by the unrelenting progress of the Tesla Model 3 in fifth, which with another strong month of deliveries, could easily gain ground.
Elsewhere, the MG4 passed the Renault Megane EV for sixth place, becoming the best-selling compact model.
Other position changes in the table included the Mini Cooper EV rising three places to 11th after a decent month of registrations. The Kia Niro used strong results in November to overtake the DS7 PHEV in 14th.
The final place in the top 20 is close in November’s figures. Volvo held the spot with its XC40, but the DS4 was only 38 units behind, and the VW ID.3 was a further 33 deliveries back.
A historic triumph?
Within the brand rankings, Tesla continued to stretch ahead of the domestic competitors. It was helped by the success of the Model 3 and the Model Y, as its share grew to 13.1% in November from 12.4% in the previous month.
Dampened by the e-208’s slow month, Peugeot fell further from first, dropping to a share of 11.9% from 12.3%. The gap is likely to grow in December’s figures, with Tesla expected to prioritise Model 3 deliveries in the country, due to the end of subsidies for Chinese-made vehicles in 2024.
Also losing share was Renault in third, falling to 7.5% from 8.1%, some considerable distance behind the leading duo.
However, 2024 may hold more promise for domestic brands, as many foreign competitors will be prevented from accessing electric subsidies. The new Scenic EV will look to help regain ground in the compact category, while the introduction of the Renault 5 is expected to exceed the performance of the Zoe.
Behind the top three, Dacia remained stable at 6.6% in fourth, while SAIC’s MG brand recorded a slight drop to 5.9% but remained in fifth. Changes were recorded outside the top five as BMW gained ground in sixth (5.4% passing Fiat (5.4%), as Mercedes-Benz clawed back some market share in eighth (5.2%).
When looking at automotive groups, with brand figures brought together under their parent companies, Stellantis retained the lead but dropped from 27.9% to 27% in November, as its sub-brands experienced sluggish registrations.
Second-placed Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance also stumbled, as its share fell to 14.7%, despite Dacia bringing strong sales. In third, Tesla stalled (13.1%), but VW Group made good progress (11.6%) helped by the success of its Skoda and Cupra models. BMW rounded out the top five (7.8%) as Hyundai-Kia (6.4%) struggled to gain ground on the German brand.
