Renault 5 snatches Model Y sales crown as France crosses 15% EV adoption

France may not have a functioning government but the French keep buying EVs, anyway – more than 15% of all new cars sold last month were EVs with the new, retro-tastic Renault 5 hot hatch taking the top sales spot.

The troubled French government finally collapsed this week following a historic no-confidence vote that saw Prime Minister Michel Barnier ousted when the Brexit negotiator controversially used special powers to force through his proposed budget without a vote. The general unrest there took its toll on the French car market in general, which saw a 12.7% sales drop compared to last year.

It’s not all bad news for French car fans, though – the hybrid and PHEV segments showed strong growth in November, up 34%. Battery-electric vehicles reached a major milestone, hitting 15% of overall sales … with the Renault 5 E-Tech the clear winner in that sales race.

Yes, the Renault 5 is getting a bit of a boost from being the hot new kid on the block (this is its first full month of sales, after all), but the numbers are impressive, nonetheless: Renault sold a total of 3,316 of its R5 E-Tech hot hatch EVs last month, indicating that the new 5 is off to an excellent start in its home market.

For comparison, the Tesla Model Y – the best-selling car in the world – delivered “just” 3,175 units amid big incentives, while the Citroen Citroën ë-C3 came in third with 1,239 new registrations. The Renault 5 finished 7th of all new vehicles.

Electrek’s Take

Renault Group seems to be going from strength to strength with its E-Tech lineup of cars and commercial vehicles. After seeing all the missteps made by the recently fired Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, maybe Chrysler really should have been handed over to Renault.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Motorpasión; Renault Group.