The French automobile market has demonstrated continuous monthly growth throughout this year, gradually recovering from the downturn experienced between 2020 and 2022. This resurgence can partly be attributed to increasing electrification of the market, with a notable rise in plug-in electric car sales. According to stats shared by L'Avere-France, new passenger car registrations in France grew 9 per cent year-over-year in September 2023, reaching a total of 153,916 units, and contributing to a year-to-date (YTD) total of 1,286,247 vehicles, up 16 per cent year-over-year. Notably, 45,872 of the new passenger vehicles registered last month were plug-in electric cars, marking a jump of 35 per cent from the corresponding month of 2022.

Plug-in electric cars sold last month also represented almost 30 per cent of the French car market, which points to a significant growth from slightly more than 24 per cent a year ago, setting a new record share for rechargeable passenger vehicles.

In a detailed breakdown, sales or registrations of passenger Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) surged 34 per cent to hit 30,173 units, securing a 19.6 per cent market share. Passenger Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) sales also saw a noteworthy uptick, with a total of 15,699 registrations, marking an increase of 35 per cent and achieving a 10.2 per cent of the market share. In total, passenger plug-in cars amounted to 45,872 registrations, up 35 per cent year-over-year and securing a substantial 29.8 per cent market share. Meanwhile, Light commercial BEVs demonstrated impressive growth with 2,297 registrations, up 35 per cent with a 7 per cent market share. On the other hand, Light commercial PHEVs experienced a slight fall of 6 per cent to settle at 33 registrations. In short, the combined sales of plug-in cars reached 48,202 units, which also marked a notable jump of 35 per cent year-over-year.

When it comes to individual models, the Tesla Model Y once again took the lead among BEVs in September, boasting 5,035 new registrations. This outstanding performance propelled the Model Y to the fifth position in the list of best-selling models in the country for the month in review, with Tesla, as a brand, securing the seventh spot.

The list of other top-performing electric models includes the Peugeot e-208 (3,924), Dacia Spring (2,514), Fiat 500 electric (2,296), and the MG4 (1,945). Notably, Renault’s most popular electric model, the Megane-e, couldn’t make it to the top five BEVs, indicating a significant shift in the market from the earlier dominance of the Renault Zoe.