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Summary of our market study
The French market for new motor vehicles is expected to reach 1.8 million vehicles in 2023, or around 58 billion euros
Worldwide sales of the 16 largest automakers reached a record level of 1,868 billion euros in 2022.
The French car manufacturing market has been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, with a dramatic 38.6% drop in car registrations in the first half of 2020.
In 2022, the sector grew by 13.4%, still below pre-pandemic levels, and had to contend with a record trade deficit of 15.7 billion euros, as imports, notably from China, tripled.
The market has shifted in particular towards electric and hybrid vehicles, with nearly 40% of registrations by 2022 and government incentives of up to 7,000 euros for consumers.
Only 26% of French people planned to buy electric vehicles in 2023.
Consumer demand trends and dynamics
Electric and hybrid vehicles account for almost 40% of registrations.
Export sales account for 60% of the sector's sales.
This trend is underlined by the tendency to outsource production beyond France's borders, leading to a decline in domestic manufacturing, while imports, particularly from countries such as China, are on the increase.
The structure of the market, characterized by a duopoly with Renault and Stellantis with almost 55% market share.
The balance of trade is in deficit by 15 to 17 billion euros. The main French models are produced in countries where labor costs are competitive.
The main players in the French car manufacturing market
- Renault Group
- Stellantis Group
- Renault Truck
- Volkswagen
- Toyota
- Tesla, the leader in electric mobility.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of the study
The automotive manufacturing market encompasses several activities, namely the design, manufacture and marketing of passenger vehicles.
In France, national brands continue to hold a strong grip on total car sales. However, national players have been hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis. In addition, the European Commission is exertingincreased pressure on pollutant emissions; the environmental targets set by Brussels for CO2 emissions pose real challenges for automakers in terms of sales of electric and hybrid vehicles. This type of vehicle has seen its market share increase exponentially in recent years, reaching almost 40% of registrations by 2022.
in the wake of the Covid crisis, production volumes by the various French players in the market have fallen sharply. What's more, the French market is highly concentrated, with two main players, the Renault group and Stellantis. An emerging trend is the increasing outsourcing of production to countries other than France. After an almost 30% drop in sales in 2020 and supply difficulties, particularly in semiconductors, in 2021 and 2022, the sector still saw growth of 13.4% in 2022, albeit still below the 2019 thresholds.
The sector's trade balance is increasingly in deficit, reaching 15.7 billion in 2022, with imports from China rising sharply in 2022, from 800 million to 2.7 billion. The sector looks set to continue growing in 2023, with a significant increase in sales for the first half of 2023, driven by higher car prices. However, the sector continues to face supply problems and strong regulatory constraints from decision-making bodies concerning pollution emitted by vehicles. Against this backdrop, industry players are under constant pressure to adapt.
1.2 World market: all-time record in 2022
global sales for the ** largest automakers rose by almost **% in ****, reaching an all-time high of €*,*** billion. It's clear from this graph that covid has come to a screeching halt in the industry. However, the sector's economic recovery has been very strong. The market has expanded, with average annual growth of *.*% between ...
1.3 Domestic market expansion
Sales in the motor vehicle construction sector rose by **.*% in ****. In ****, the sector's sales increased by almost **%, then gradually recovered in **** and ****.
it should be noted that nearly **% of the sector's sales in **** will come from exports
Sales - Domestic and export - Motor vehicle manufacturing (***) France, ****-****, € billion Source: ****
However, ...
1.4 Foreign trade: Record trade deficit
Between **** and ****, the value of imports rose by an average of *.*% per year, while exports grew by an average of just *.*%.
By ****, exports have risen by almost **%, driven by excellent results from the Stellantis Group.
foreign trade in automotive products (***) France, ****, Millions of euros Source: ****
france's foreign trade deficit in the ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Profile analysis: The French consumer
A strong national customer base for manufacturers
Car brands ranked by number of owners France, ****, in million units Source: ****
The graph above illustrates car registrations by brand. It shows the clear dominance of local manufacturers such as Renault, Peugeot and Citroën.
In particular, Renault was the most widespread brand in ...
2.2 Growing consumer demand for electric and hybrid cars
Registered vehicles, by energy type France, ****, in Source: CCFA In France, gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles continue to dominate the automotive landscape, however, hybrid vehicles are recording particularly remarkable growth. Between **** and ****, the share of new hybrid car registrations rose from *.*% to **%, and this upward trend looks set to continue in **** and ...
2.3 The impact of COVID-19 on the industry
The global pandemic has had a detrimental effect on the automotive industry, both in France and worldwide. This is due in particular to the reduction in road traffic as a result of containment measures. Because the evolution of the virus and the situation is unpredictable, uncertainty remains, and automakers can count ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Market structure
The market structure in France is highly concentrated and takes the form of a duopoly. Two groups dominate car manufacturing and sales, as listed below
Renault Renault is owned by the French government and includes other car brands such as Dacia ; Renault has partnerships with Nissan and Mitsubishi. The French group ...
3.2 French production outside France increased
In today's globalized world, car production rarely takes place in a single geographical location. Instead, companies use multiple sites to benefit from access to raw materials, labor and know-how. For example, of the ** production and assembly sites worldwide used by Renault, Stellantis (***) and Renault Trucks, including * in projects, only ** are located ...
3.3 Distribution
as of January *, ****, the main network, made up of branches, manufacturers and dealers, represents *,*** outlets, out of a total of **,*** outlets in France.
Sales networks in France for light vehicles at January *, **** France, ****, Units Source: ****
in order to maintain a high level of quality in sales and after-sales services, the distribution ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Passenger cars dominate production
The big picture
There are three main types of car on the market: standard passenger cars (***), hybrid cars and electric cars. As we saw in the previous section, the first category dominates.
Traffic
Fleet status by type France, ****-****, in thousands Type of car **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** Passenger cars ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** ** *** Light commercial vehicles * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** * *** Heavy-duty vehicles *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Total ** ...
4.2 Price and cost analysis
Prices and costs vary considerably depending on the car model. Different cars require different volumes of input, including raw materials, engineers and time spent on design and production. The figures we present below are therefore a representative sample, and should not be taken as representative of the market as a ...
4.3 Clean alternatives supported by the government
The French government is a powerful catalyst in the process of gradually switching from today's diesel and petrol cars to electric and hybrid cars. There are financial incentives for both consumers and producers looking to buy or manufacture a car. In particular, on May **, ****, Mr. Macron announced that the government would ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Regulatory framework
The automotive industry is subject to an extensive legislative framework based on rules and regulations issued by the European Commission. This scope includes
emissions: Since January *, ****, Regulation (***) ****/*** has been in force, settingCO* emissions performance requirements for ****, **** and ****, in line with the EU's Paris Agreement targets
-after lengthy negotiations with its member ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Segmentation
Here's a breakdown of the world's automotive groups:
- Ligier Groupe
- Ineos Grenadier
- OPmobility Plastic Omnium Groupe
- Stellantis (Groupe PSA et Fiat)
- PSA Peugeot Citroen
- Renault Groupe
List of charts presented in this market study
- OBSERVATOIRE DES MOBILITÉS PARTAGÉES ET ÉLECTRIQUES (Ifop)
- The French were increasingly skeptical about electric cars
- Renault and PSA share price performance during the Covid-19 epidemic
- Domestic and global production of passenger cars by French groups
- Number of employees in the automobile manufacturing sector
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Latest news
Plastic Omnium gives in to the name change craze - 27/03/2024
- - Plastic Omnium changes its name to OPmobility.
- - Diversification of sales with investments in hydrogen, lighting and software.
- - The Burelle family holds 60% of the company's capital.
- - The group posted sales of 11.4 billion last year.
- - OPmobility employs 40,000 people in 28 countries.
Stellantis takes a radical turn in China. - 09/12/2023
- Signature of a strategic partnership with Chinese automotive start-up Leapmotor.
- Stellantis will acquire a stake of around 21% in the company for a total of 1.5 billion euros.
- The two companies will also set up a joint venture, Leapmotor International, 51% owned by Stellantis.
- Based in the Netherlands, it will "have exclusive rights to manufacture, export and sell Leapmotor products outside China"
- The Leapmotor International joint venture is targeting 500,000 sales outside China by 2030.
- Deliveries from the Leapmotor International joint venture are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2024.
- Stellantis terminated its joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) in July 2022.
- Stellantis sold three local plants to the Chinese group Dongfeng.
A hydrogen pick-up: Stellantis' answer to Tesla's Cybertruck - 06/12/2023
- Stellantis aims to launch a hydrogen version of a RAM pickup in the USA in late 2026 or early 2027.
- The hydrogen-powered pickup promises a recharge time of less than ten minutes.
- Stellantis also plans to produce a hydrogen-powered utility vehicle at "industrial volumes" in Hordain, northern France, from next year.
- Toyota, another major manufacturer, presented a prototype Hilux that runs on hydrogen.
- Rivian, a new manufacturer, has already started selling its electric van, backed by Amazon and Ford.
Stellantis aims to become world leader in utility vehicles - 24/10/2023
- Stellantis is number one in Europe and aims to become number 1 worldwide in the commercial vehicle market.
- Stellantis market share in Europe: 31%
- Twelve launches planned for Citroën, Peugeot, Fiat and Opel.
- Range of electric versions: from 330 kilometers for the minivan, to 420 for the large van.
- Stellantis has 15 factories worldwide.
- Sales of Stellantis vans in 2022: 1.6 million (out of a total of 5.8 million vehicles sold).
- Commercial vehicles account for 60 billion euros, a third of Stellantis net revenues
- Stellantis aims to double sales of light commercial vehicles by 2030.
- Stellantis' target for 2030: 40% of its LCV sales to be electrically powered.
- amazon and Merchants Fleet have ordered 12,500 electric vehicles
Stellantis steps up a gear in the commercial vehicle segment - 24/10/2023
- Stellantis presented twelve new commercial vehicles in four different brands.
- Commercial vehicles account for a third of Stellantis sales, or 60 billion euros.
- Stellantis intends to double its sales of commercial vehicles by 2030. Stellantis has a 31% market share of commercial vehicle sales in Europe and 28% in South America. The group sold 1.6 million commercial vehicles worldwide last year. Stellantis aims to generate sales of 5 billion euros from connected vehicle services by 2030.
Plastic Omnium benefits from U.S. green plan - 07/09/2023
- Plastic Omnium to build and open a new hydrogen tank plant in Michigan by the end of 2026
- This plant will be the "largest hydrogen storage plant in the United States"
- Annual production capacity: 100,000 high-pressure hydrogen tanks
- Total investment in the plant: $170 million
- The Biden administration has allocated over eight billion dollars to develop green hydrogen infrastructure
- Plastic Omnium's goal: three billion euros in sales of hydrogen storage systems and fuel cells by 2030
- Total Group sales in 2022: 9.5 billion euros
- 99% of tanks to be used in commercial vehicles
- New plant in Compiègne to come on stream in early 2025, with full production capacity of 80,000 tanks a year
- New plant in Shanghai, in partnership with China's Shenergy, to come on stream in 2026.
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the car manufacturing market | France
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