France May 2026: BEVs up 92.7% to 29.1% share, is the Renault Clio VI a flop?

1 June 2026 at 10:59

The Renault Clio 6 only holds 2.8% of its home market in May.

The French new car market edges up 3.7% year-on-year in May to sign a second YoY growth in the past 3 months. However keep in mind May 2025 was off -12.3% on the year prior The YTD tally however remains in negative – just – at -0.6% to 668,379. Petrol sales are off -37.4% to 18,926 and 14.7% share vs. 24.4% a year ago, diesel implodes -52.5% to just 3,291 and 2.6% share vs. 5.6% in May 2025, HEVs edge up 0.4% to 54,774 and 42.6% share vs. 44% last year and PHEVs are down -6.5% to 7,648 and 6% share vs. 6.6% a year ago. Finally BEVs skyrocket +92.7% to 37,412 and 29.1% share vs. 15.7% in May 2025. Year-to-date, BEV sales are up 55.4% to 185,714 and 27.8% share vs. 17.8% over the first five months of 2025.

The Tesla Model Y is up to #3 in France in May.

The Top 3 manufacturers are all down. Renault (-10.9%) falls to its lowest market share since last August at 15.4% while Peugeot (-14.7%) is in even worse shape and drops to 12.4%. Dacia (-2.9%) is also weak while Volkswagen (+0.1%) is stable and overtakes Citroen (-7.6%) to reach the 4th place overall. Volkswagen is now #5 year-to-date above Toyota (+5.7%), despite the latter signing a relatively solid month. BMW (+39.5%) is up two ranks on April to #7 with 4.5% share, its best performance this year so far. Surreal score for Tesla, up 655.3% year-on-year to #8 overall with 4.2% share vs. 1.3% last month. Skoda (+13.5%) is also robust, distancing Audi (+7.4%) and Mercedes (+18.1%). BYD is estimated to climb 166.5% to a record 14th position while Fiat (+71%) recovers at #15.

The new gen iX3 helps BMW to its best performance of the year.

Over in the models charts, the Peugeot 208 (-0.6%) repeats at #1 with 4.7% share vs. 4.5% so far this year. The Dacia Sandero (+4.5%) is only 24 sales lower in 2nd place. Meanwhile the Tesla Model Y (+835.7%) shoots up 19 spots on April to land in third place overall with 3% share, an outstanding result given we are not in an end of quarter month. At #4, the Renault Clio VI disappoints again with just 2.8% share, down from 3.7% in April and 4% in March. Are we witnessing a shock failure for the new generation of Renault’s star model? When adding the 5th generation (-84.3% to #19), the Clio nameplate only holds 4% share, in third place well below the 208 and Sandero. The Renault 5 (+100.6%) surges YoY but is down one rank on last month to #7, just as the new Renault Twingo IV is up to #36, the Renault 4 (+78.4%) down to #65 and the BMW iX3 (+18100%) up to #67.

Previous month: France April 2026: Stable market (-0.3%), BEVs up 41.8% to 26.2% share

One year ago: France May 2025: Volumes down -12.3%, BEV private sales down -58%

Full May 2026 Top 20 brands and Top 80 models below.

France May 2026 – brands:

Pos	Brand	May-26	%	/25	Apr	2026	%	/25	Pos	FY25
1	Renault	19,823	15.4%	– 10.9%	1	118,326	17.7%	– 1.5%	1	1
2	Peugeot	15,933	12.4%	– 14.7%	2	90,860	13.6%	– 10.9%	2	2
3	Dacia	11,562	9.0%	– 2.9%	3	52,705	7.9%	– 12.4%	4	3
4	Volkswagen	8,825	6.9%	+ 0.1%	5	43,759	6.5%	– 3.4%	5	5
5	Citroen	8,458	6.6%	– 7.6%	4	53,415	8.0%	+ 6.4%	3	4
6	Toyota	7,653	6.0%	+ 5.7%	6	43,358	6.5%	– 9.7%	6	6
7	BMW	5,806	4.5%	+ 39.5%	9	23,437	3.5%	+ 0.2%	7	7
8	Tesla	5,446	4.2%	+ 655.3%	21	21,220	3.2%	+ 156.4%	8	18
9	Skoda	4,563	3.6%	+ 13.5%	7	20,860	3.1%	+ 7.0%	9	8
10	Audi	3,811	3.0%	+ 7.4%	10	19,016	2.8%	+ 5.8%	10	9
11	Mercedes	3,725	2.9%	+ 18.1%	8	15,983	2.4%	+ 6.5%	11	11
12	Opel	2,560	2.0%	– 2.8%	12	15,553	2.3%	+ 13.8%	12	15
13	Hyundai	2,511	2.0%	– 18.7%	11	14,681	2.2%	– 16.0%	13	10
14	BYD (est)	2,500	1.9%	+ 166.5%	16	8,420	1.3%	+ 81.9%	20	24
15	Fiat	2,496	1.9%	+ 71.0%	18	12,584	1.9%	+ 58.9%	15	20
16	MG (est)	2,463	1.9%	– 4.4%	14	11,510	1.7%	+ 7.4%	17	14
17	Mini	2,124	1.7%	+ 45.3%	20	9,872	1.5%	+ 6.7%	19	17
18	Nissan	2,049	1.6%	+ 0.6%	15	10,358	1.5%	– 11.3%	18	16
19	Kia	2,048	1.6%	– 15.3%	13	12,574	1.9%	– 6.0%	16	13
20	Ford	1,999	1.6%	– 36.0%	17	12,823	1.9%	– 18.8%	14	12

France May 2026 – models:

Pos	Model	May-26	%	/25	Apr	2026	%	/25	Pos	FY25
1	Peugeot 208	6,024	4.7%	– 0.6%	1	29,858	4.5%	– 9.3%	1	2
2	Dacia Sandero	6,000	4.7%	+ 4.5%	2	24,986	3.7%	– 12.1%	2	3
3	Tesla Model Y	3,874	3.0%	+ 835.7%	22	16,000	2.4%	+ 183.1%	8	15
4	Renault Clio VI	3,646	2.8%	new	3	21,076	3.2%	new	5	141
5	Citroen C3	3,515	2.7%	– 14.0%	4	23,392	3.5%	– 12.8%	3	4
6	Peugeot 2008	3,259	2.5%	– 33.3%	5	21,470	3.2%	– 14.6%	4	5
7	Renault 5	2,947	2.3%	+ 100.6%	6	16,449	2.5%	+ 27.3%	6	7
8	Peugeot 3008	2,812	2.2%	– 12.9%	7	15,431	2.3%	– 16.7%	9	6
9	Dacia Duster III	2,629	2.0%	– 19.8%	10	13,069	2.0%	– 29.6%	12	9
10	Renault Captur	2,371	1.8%	– 16.1%	8	14,580	2.2%	– 16.0%	10	8
11	Toyota Yaris Cross	2,357	1.8%	+ 12.7%	9	12,938	1.9%	– 13.8%	13	11
12	Citroen C3 Aircross II	2,348	1.8%	+ 19.0%	14	13,221	2.0%	+ 253.2%	11	18
13	VW Polo	2,192	1.7%	+ 7.5%	23	8,518	1.3%	– 14.1%	19	14
14	Renault Symbioz	2,147	1.7%	– 24.8%	12	12,442	1.9%	– 16.3%	15	12
15	Toyota Yaris	1,982	1.5%	– 18.2%	11	12,218	1.8%	– 12.0%	16	10
16	Peugeot 308	1,972	1.5%	– 19.1%	13	12,646	1.9%	– 7.9%	14	13
17	Renault Scenic V	1,624	1.3%	+ 56.8%	15	10,634	1.6%	+ 54.2%	17	22
18	Tesla Model 3	1,561	1.2%	+ 423.8%	95	5,153	0.8%	+ 101.6%	31	73
19	Renault Clio V	1,531	1.2%	– 84.3%	16	16,161	2.4%	– 62.1%	7	1
20	BMW X1	1,460	1.1%	+ 52.7%	63	4,757	0.7%	– 1.6%	35	40
21	VW T-Roc II	1,420	1.1%	new	17	7,385	1.1%	new	22	159
22	Citroen C5 Aircross II	1,411	1.1%	new	19	9,252	1.4%	new	18	99
23	Dacia Bigster	1,370	1.1%	+ 12.9%	20	7,266	1.1%	+ 110.6%	24	21
24	Peugeot 5008 III	1,323	1.0%	– 8.9%	24	7,809	1.2%	+ 2.6%	20	17
25	Renault Megane E-Tech	1,289	1.0%	+ 153.2%	43	4,842	0.7%	+ 42.6%	34	50
26	Opel Corsa	1,248	1.0%	– 13.9%	21	6,984	1.0%	– 9.4%	25	26
27	Renault Austral	1,229	1.0%	– 9.6%	26	7,329	1.1%	– 14.5%	23	16
28	Nissan Qashqai	1,155	0.9%	+ 39.0%	18	6,035	0.9%	+ 15.7%	26	30
29	Toyota C-HR II	1,146	0.9%	+ 31.4%	30	7,465	1.1%	+ 15.3%	21	29
30	Skoda Elroq	1,126	0.9%	+ 64.9%	31	5,129	0.8%	+ 194.3%	32	58
31	Dacia Jogger	1,105	0.9%	– 15.6%	29	4,619	0.7%	– 30.8%	36	28
32	Toyota Aygo X	1,059	0.8%	+ 31.9%	25	5,889	0.9%	+ 18.3%	27	39
33	VW ID.4	1,026	0.8%	+ 178.8%	28	5,542	0.8%	+ 165.9%	30	72
34	BYD Atto 2	1,018	0.8%	+ 4527.3%	42	2,348	0.4%	+ 769.6%	78	200
35	Hyundai Kona	1,015	0.8%	+ 16.1%	27	5,640	0.8%	+ 5.2%	29	37
36	Renault Twingo IV	1,004	0.8%	new	82	2,675	0.4%	new	73	344
37	BMW Série 1	985	0.8%	+ 42.3%	47	4,083	0.6%	– 24.0%	46	33
38	Mini Hatch	975	0.8%	+ 16.3%	52	4,899	0.7%	+ 1.5%	33	35
39	VW ID.3	912	0.7%	+ 96.6%	49	4,158	0.6%	+ 20.1%	44	55
40	Fiat 600	902	0.7%	+ 8.9%	86	3,896	0.6%	– 3.0%	50	59
41	Skoda Fabia	888	0.7%	+ 0.9%	39	4,271	0.6%	– 10.1%	41	41
42	Ford Puma	883	0.7%	– 37.5%	40	5,714	0.9%	– 13.6%	28	19
43	BMW iX1	870	0.7%	+ 81.6%	53	3,959	0.6%	+ 60.1%	48	47
44	Mini Countryman	845	0.7%	+ 130.2%	67	3,665	0.5%	+ 46.8%	51	61
45	Hyundai Tucson	831	0.6%	– 23.1%	34	4,261	0.6%	– 22.7%	42	23
46	VW Golf	830	0.6%	– 17.7%	41	4,313	0.6%	– 15.9%	40	32
47	MG 3	812	0.6%	– 23.3%	37	3,528	0.5%	– 4.5%	52	42
48	MG ZS	782	0.6%	– 23.5%	45	4,091	0.6%	– 12.5%	45	34
49	VW Tiguan III	752	0.6%	– 37.6%	50	4,226	0.6%	– 35.6%	43	24
50	Audi A3	749	0.6%	– 7.8%	33	3,954	0.6%	+ 20.1%	49	45
51	Audi Q4	735	0.6%	+ 223.8%	46	3,471	0.5%	+ 114.4%	54	68
52	VW T-Cross	721	0.6%	– 30.2%	35	4,079	0.6%	– 21.3%	47	31
53	Seat Ibiza	708	0.6%	+ 8.1%	56	2,891	0.4%	– 16.8%	65	57
54	Citroen C4	676	0.5%	– 39.0%	32	4,617	0.7%	– 48.7%	37	25
55	Renault Espace	670	0.5%	– 23.0%	69	3,360	0.5%	– 14.3%	55	51
56	Mercedes CLA	667	0.5%	+ 285.5%	38	3,256	0.5%	+ 209.5%	58	112
57	Kia EV4	665	0.5%	new	51	2,681	0.4%	new	72	202
58	Audi Q3	663	0.5%	+ 215.7%	57	3,328	0.5%	+ 93.9%	57	80
59	Skoda Octavia	648	0.5%	– 13.5%	60	3,177	0.5%	– 11.8%	59	48
60	Ford Kuga	592	0.5%	– 42.9%	66	3,041	0.5%	– 37.8%	61	38
61	Fiat Grande Panda	591	0.5%	n/a	68	3,332	0.5%	n/a	56	83
62	Jeep Avenger	585	0.5%	+ 26.1%	93	2,647	0.4%	– 6.4%	75	63
63	Renault Rafale	585	0.5%	– 7.4%	77	2,780	0.4%	– 30.0%	68	54
64	Xpeng G6	583	0.5%	+ 195.9%	74	2,012	0.3%	+ 157.3%	85	120
65	Renault 4	571	0.4%	+ 78.4%	48	4,525	0.7%	+ 903.3%	38	64
66	Suzuki Swift	561	0.4%	– 35.4%	36	4,321	0.6%	– 24.8%	39	36
67	BMW iX3	546	0.4%	+ 18100.0%	104	1,539	0.2%	+ 697.4%	92	252
68	Fiat 500	540	0.4%	+ 100.0%	44	3,522	0.5%	+ 49.9%	53	82
69	Audi A1	522	0.4%	– 20.1%	75	2,827	0.4%	– 26.9%	66	52
70	Skoda Kamiq	520	0.4%	– 18.2%	71	2,815	0.4%	– 13.4%	67	56
71	Skoda Enyaq	517	0.4%	+ 129.8%	58	1,971	0.3%	– 4.9%	86	90
72	Toyota Corolla	506	0.4%	+ 10.5%	87	2,697	0.4%	– 33.8%	71	53
73	Mercedes Classe A	503	0.4%	– 22.7%	55	2,321	0.3%	– 26.1%	81	49
74	Nissan Juke	495	0.4%	– 46.0%	73	2,658	0.4%	– 38.2%	74	44
75	Cupra Formentor	477	0.4%	– 29.5%	72	2,367	0.4%	– 28.4%	77	60
76	Dacia Spring	458	0.4%	+ 24.8%	70	2,765	0.4%	– 7.8%	69	62
77	Mercedes GLA	458	0.4%	– 45.1%	61	2,894	0.4%	– 20.6%	64	43
78	Opel Mokka	450	0.4%	+ 2.3%	81	3,082	0.5%	+ 2.9%	60	66
79	Kia Sportage	439	0.3%	– 25.5%	54	2,912	0.4%	– 11.3%	63	46
80	Cupra Born	433	0.3%	– 1.4%	64	2,326	0.3%	+ 14.0%	80	81

Source: PFA, AAA Data

Normal view