EVs Take 32.9% Share In France – Renault 5 Record Volume

November’s auto sales saw plugin EVs take 32.9% share in France, up from 26.2% year-on-year. BEVs grew volume by almost 50% YoY, while PHEVs fell. Overall auto volume was 132,927 units, flat YoY. The Renault 5 was (by far) the best-selling BEV, with its highest ever volume.

November’s auto sales totals saw combined plugin EVs take 32.9% share in France, with 25.8% full battery-electrics (BEVs) and 7.1% plugin hybrids (PHEVs). These compare with YoY figures of 26.2% combined, 17.4% BEV and 8.8% PHEV.

The BEV share of 25.8% was a new record high, the third consecutive record-breaking month, and the combined plugin share is also a record high – despite falling YoY PHEV share.

Stepping back to look at the YTD figures, combined plugin share now stands at 25.8%, ahead of 2024’s YTD of 24.9%, and even ahead of 2023’s 25.5%. For BEVs alone, YTD is now 19.5%, from 17.0% in 2024, and 16.4% in 2023. France is now “back to growth” after a year in the doldrums.

The main reason for the BEV surge over the past couple of months is the surge of deliveries under the Social Leasing programme. This is combined with the continuing production ramp of the relatively affordable new models, such as the Renault 4 and 5 (and the Scenic), the CItroen e-C3 and Aircross, and the Skoda Elroq, to name a few.

Plugless hybrids (HEV / MHEV) also grew by 4.4% YoY, leaving combustion-only vehicles on a steep decline. Diesel-only sales were down by 20% YoY (to 5.3% share) and petrol-only down by 30% (to 17.6% share, a record low). They may temporarily dip close to 20% (combined) in December, then recover slightly in H1 2026, before falling below 20% more permanently in H2.

Best-Selling BEVs

The Renault 5 was again the best-seller in November, for the fourth time in the past five months. This time around it sold a new record volume of 5,286 units, roughly the equivalent of the next three models combined.

In second place was the Peugeot e-208 with 2,069 units. In third, the Renault Scenic, with 1,934 units.
There were no completely new faces in the top 20, though the Skoda Elroq continued to do well, now in 6th place, with a new record volume of 1,095 units.

The Renault 4 also continued its steady climb, now up to a new high of 5th spot, and a record volume of 1,249 units.

As usual, official market data is not complete enough for us to be able to detect new model debuts in France.

Let’s now turn to the 3-month rankings:

The Renault 5 dominates, well ahead of the Tesla Model Y and all other models. Its volume (at 12,374 units) has almost doubled since 3 months prior, and is almost a 3-month alltime record, only marginally topped by the Tesla Model 3’s volume in winter 2023.

The most interesting sustained climbs in raking were from the Renault 4 and Hyundai Inster. The Renault has now climbed to 6th, from 12th in the prior period, more than doubling volume. The Hyundai Inster is climbing more modestly, now up to 15th, from 18th prior, increasing volume by 60%. Both of these models still have the legs to climb further.

Outlook

With YoY auto volume flat, accompanied by the large growth in BEVs and some growth in HEVs, the balance of losses accrued to combustion-only vehicles.

The broader French macroeconomy remains rather weak, albeit with Q3 2025 data showing 0.9% YoY GDP growth, the best for a year, following on from 0.7% in Q2. Headline inflation was 0.9% in November, down from 1.2% in September. ECB interest rates remain flat at 2.15% (since early June). Manufacturing PMI was down, at 47.8 points in November, from 48.8 points in October.

What’s next for France’s EV transition? What market share for BEVs do you expect in December? Is Tesla now permanently knocked off its prior top spot in France (and much of the rest of Europe)? Please share your thoughts and comments in the discussion below.