Fewer Sales Days Skew France’s May Results

PARIS – A shocking 16.1% decline in French car sales in May disguises what probably was the first positive month this year.

Customers bought 165,776 cars in May, down from 197,701 year-ago, but there were three fewer daily selling days due to holidays, resulting in only a 2.9% drop in the daily sales rate.

PSA Peugeot Citroen lost market share in May as sales tumbled 28.5%. Renault gained share despite a 12.0% decline, but its Dacia entry brand turned in a plus month.

“For the business-fleet market that resisted much better in May than the market for individuals, Renault confirmed its leadership, as it did for utility vehicles,” says the Bernard Cambier, sales director-France.

There were some notable exceptions to a mostly dismal month. Toyota sales rose 16.8% over year-ago, when the auto maker was plagued with supply problems in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami two months earlier.

Chevrolet deliveries surged 68% and Fiat’s Lancia spiked 160% from a very small base of 506 sales, including the new Flavia cabriolet, based on the Chrysler 200 convertible.

Both Hyundai and Kia also had outright positive months in May, while Mercedes-Benz was up 23 units from year-ago to 4,190.

Other major brands that lost share in May included Ford, Opel and Fiat.