PARIS — New-car registrations in France fell by 15 p.c in August in contrast with the identical month final 12 months, because the chip scarcity and persevering with coronavirus uncertainty hindered the market’s restoration.
There have been 88,066 gross sales in August 2021 on 22 promoting days, in contrast with 103,631 gross sales in August 2020, which had 21 promoting days, trade group CCFA stated. August is historically a slow-selling month in France, with a lot of the nation on trip, however it was the primary time the French market recorded August gross sales of lower than 100,000 models for the reason that recession years of 2012-14.
The market remains to be up 13 p.c for the 12 months, with 1.12 million gross sales by August.
Practically all manufacturers misplaced quantity, however a notable exception was Volkswagen, which elevated gross sales by 40 p.c. Different quantity manufacturers exhibiting progress have been DS, up 15 p.c; Mini, up 7.4 p.c; and Dacia, up 3.7 p.c.
Stellantis group gross sales fell 29 p.c, with Peugeot dropping 34 p.c, Citroen down 20 p.c, Opel down 35 p.c and Fiat dropping 45 p.c.
Renault Group fared comparatively effectively behind Dacia’s acquire, dropping 4.3 p.c for the month. Renault model gross sales fell by 9.1 p.c.
VW Group was in optimistic territory for the month, fueled by the namesake model’s sturdy efficiency. Spanish model Seat misplaced 44 p.c and Czech model Skoda fell by 20 p.c. Audi misplaced 9.1 p.c.
BMW gross sales have been down 6.1 p.c. Mercedes-Benz misplaced 30 p.c.
Ford gross sales fell 47 p.c.
Amongst Asian manufacturers, Toyota gross sales held comparatively regular with a 5.2 p.c decline. Nissan’s quantity continued to fall, dropping 48 p.c on gross sales of 1,137 models. Compared, Nissan, which is Renault’s alliance accomplice, bought 4,546 vehicles in August 2017 in France.
Hyundai gross sales fell 12 p.c; Kia misplaced 27 p.c. Suzuki was down 14 p.c.
Gentle-commercial automobile gross sales have been down 17 p.c for the month, however remained 23 p.c larger than in 2020 for the 12 months.