French Auto Sales Rise Nearly 2% in June

Registrations of new cars in France rose 1.6% in June year on year, with Daimler, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and Ford recording the strongest gains.

There were 22 selling days in June compared to 21 last year, industry association Comité des Constructeurs Français d’Automobiles (CCFA), said in a statement on Saturday. Adjusted sales were up 6.5%, Automotive News Europe reported on Monday.

In the first half of the year, registrations increased 3% to 1.13 million vehicles, or 3.8% based on an equal number of selling days, CCFA said.

Following those results, the association has revised its annual sales prediction upward to 3 to 4%, versus 0 to 2% earlier this year.

Among domestic automakers, PSA Group sales rose 4.9%, with Peugeot’s gain of 13% offsetting drop in sales at a 2.1% decline at Citroen and a 36% fall at DS. Overall Renault Group sales fell 5.4%, with the Renault brand down 7.3% and Dacia up 3.1%.

Daimler sales increased 23%, including 32% for the Mercedes brand, though Smart sales fell 24%. Toyota recorded a gain of 9.2% and Fiat Chrysler 6.8%, led by a strong gain of 18% for the Alfa Romeo brand. Ford sales rose 6.3%.

Sales of light commercial vehicles rose 1.9% in June. Diesel share rose to 49%, the fourth straight month of gains after bottoming out in March at 47%, CCFA said.

The association sees sales rising between 3% and 4% this year, versus an earlier target of 2%.