Subsidies, New Models to Keep French Auto Makers’ Momentum Going

PARIS – Last year might have been bad for the global industry, but with the help of government subsidies 2009 was the best sales year for France since 1990, with 2,268,730 passenger cars registered, up 10.7%.

Counting light-utility vehicles, which saw demand fall, overall vehicle deliveries rose 5.3% to 2,642,727 units.

Renault, Peugeot and Citroen, the three French brands, boosted their ...