France Light-Vehicle Sales Slide 15.4% in March

PARIS – The light-vehicle market in France fell another 15.4% in March, slightly accelerating its first-quarter downward trend, and the French auto makers remain largely responsible.

Peugeot slid 16.2%, Citroen tumbled 26.3% and Renault was down 14.9%, although sales of its entry-level Dacia brand saw a 26.3% gain on year-ago.

Ford and General Motors continued to lose market share, with Ford deliveries falling 23.4% and GM plunging 32.5%.

Hyundai-Kia was the only group to benefit in the month. As with Dacia, the entry-level Korean brands continue to find customers during Europe’s economic crisis that has pushed up both unemployment and taxes.

The Fiat brand also sold better than a year ago, up 4.1% in March, but declines at Alfa Romeo and Lancia, which now mostly market cars of Chrysler origin, kept the group trailing like-2012 results.

The CCFA auto industry association continues to maintain its outlook for the year that calls for a 5% decline, meaning the market is expected to bottom out and begin recovering sometime in the next nine months.

Renault has launched its new Clio B-segment car, and Peugeot’s similar 208 in the same segment soon will be joined by a hot 208 GTI version as well as an urban model called 208 XY after the generations it targets.

Of the 507,830 new cars registered in the first quarter, Renault’s Clio was the best seller at 33,956 units, followed by the Megane, a popular car for business fleets, and the Peugeot 208 in third position. Volkswagen’s Golf and Polo made it to the top 10 list, in sixth and ninth place.

Sales in Spain also fell precipitously last month, down 21%. Because Easter fell in March this year, some regions of Spain lost three or four selling days. In France, there were 21 selling days compared with 22 last year.