French passenger car registrations rose 7.5% to 211,264 last month and Renault was the only French brand that did well. The increase completed an 8.2% first-quarter expansion to 516,392 – a strong start to a year in which Renault and others have predicted weaker growth of around 2% for the full 12 months.
Renault Group posted an impressive 12% sales increase for March, with its namesake brand and no-frills Dacia badge both gaining market share on the strength of new and revamped models. Renault brand sales were up 11% while Dacia’s volume increased by 20%.
Meanwhile PSA/Peugeot-Citroen fared badly, with a March gain of just 2.8% as both of its brands trailed the market last month and for the quarter while rivals Volkswagen did better with their passenger car sales rising at half the pace of the market at 3.2% in March. VW Group sales were up 6.6% boosted by 12.5% growth at Audi.
