True fleet registrations in France hit a new record last year, Dataforce reports, with SUVs seeing particularly strong take-up.

Renault increased its fleet volume with a double-digit growth of +11.4%.

Announced as latest figures show a record 2016 performance in Germany too, new data for Germany  shows the country recorded more than 467,000 new passenger car registrations for 2016, up +9.0%.

With private market growth remaining flat at +0.3%) the total market share of both true fleets and special channels (short term rentals, dealerships/manufacturers) peaked with 23.2% and 27.3% respectively.

Notable performance was seen by SUVs, which finally became the most popular segment, taking the crown from small cars. The most popular market players are Renault Kadjar and Renault Captur followed by Nissan Qashqai, Peugeot 2008, Volkswagen Tiguan and BMW’s X1 which gained no less than 17 positions in the ranking.

Amongst the top-ranking carmakers, market leader Renault increased its fleet volume with a double-digit growth of +11.4% followed by Peugeot, Citroen and Volkswagen. Also notable were the performances of BMW, Audi and Mercedes – ranked 5-7 and all showing significant growth rates of 15.9%, 10.9% and 15.5%. The Top 10 list is completed by Nissan, Ford and Opel.

Home brands dominated the top 10 models. Volkswagen Golf as the first non-French competitor is ranked 12th in 2016. Beside the Golf only Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Passat and Audi A4 were ranked within the 20 most preferred models for French company car drivers.

For more of the latest industry news, click here.