France’s new-car market has seen another month of registration increases, with 128,484 new cars registered in May, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%. This was the second month of 2026 to see improvement, following a minimal loss in April.
The French new-car market has recovered from a poor start to the year, with deliveries down 11.1% across the first two months of 2026. However, there was a positive performance in March and more marginal results in April and May, resulting in a year-on-year decline of just 0.6% in the year to date.
BEV Market Performance
The registration rise in France was helped by a strong result in the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) market, with deliveries of all-electric models increasing by 92.7% in May. In all, 37,415 units left dealerships, almost double the number in May 2025.
The BEV market has been France’s saviour so far this year, with all-electric registrations growing by 55.4% to 185,714 units over the first five months. This represents a 27.8% slice of the market.
The French government has set out its plans for the future of electric mobility in the country, including an industrial objective for French manufacturers to produce 400,000 electric vehicles per year by 2027, increasing to one million by 2030.
Plug-in Hybrid Performance
While BEVs have been the success story in France, their EV counterpart, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), have struggled, with May seeing another month of decline, as 6.5% fewer models took to the country’s roads.
PHEVs have only witnessed one month of growth between January and May this year, with the 35,565 units delivered to customers during that period down 4.8%. The technology counted for 5.3% of the country’s total in the year to date, a drop of 0.3pp.
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The combination of BEVs and PHEVs saw growth of 63.3% to 45,063 units in May, representing a 35.1% share in the month, a rise of 12.8pp.
Market Share
Hybrids still led the market, with 51,930 registrations in May, taking a 40.4% hold of the overall total. Yet this was 3.6pp down compared to the same month of 2025.
Adding hybrids to the plug-in grouping meant electrified models dominated in May, with 96,993 units and an 18.1% volume increase, taking 75.5% of the market, up 9.2pp.
Petrol and diesel continue to fade, with May’s 37.4% drop in volumes marking another major decrease for petrol registrations. Just 18,926 units made their way to customers, representing 14.7% of the market, down by 9.7pp.
France’s new-car market is becoming increasingly reliant on BEVs. The government’s new social leasing plans will further boost the all-electric technology. However, this could also create a reliance on one powertrain, which may not be sustainable in the long term.
The French government’s plans are set to further boost the all-electric technology.
It is a trend that will likely continue.