The French true fleet market continued to rise in April, marking its 12th consecutive month of growth.

The Peugeot 5008 hit its eighth straight month of four‑digit registration volume in the French true fleet market in April

Analysis by Gabriel Juhas at Dataforce found the total new car market in France was up 9.0% in April to 187,000 registrations. The true fleet sector rose 8.8% in April although the private channel with a 15.5% growth was the biggest contributor, both in terms of growth and volume. Special channels finished down 0.5%.

In terms of brand performance for true fleet, Peugeot retook the top spot lost to Renault in March and this came from a 20.1% surge over April 2016 figures, thanks unsurprisingly to its SUVs. The 3008 pushed its registrations up by 27.5% and the 5008 hit its eighth straight month of four‑digit registration volume.

After Renault, Citroën completed the podium with VW in fourth. Ford secured the fifth spot with a 26.1% increase and its eighth month of positive growth, driven by the hybrid Mondeo. Audi came in sixth, followed closely (only 27 registrations) by Mercedes in seventh while BMW slipped two places from April 2017 into eighth.

This was followed by Fiat, which recorded 42.1% growth with the 500 and 500X leading the charge. However, Toyota saw the highest growth with figure of 47.7%, led by the Yaris, C-HR, Auris and Aygo, with Hybrids (apart for Aygo) dominating those registrations.

Dataforce also noted the strong take-up of hybrids in French true fleet sector, with the fuel type up 82.5% for April or 45.5% YTD.

Meanwhile the long-term rentals sector also continued its growth in 2018, up by 16.1% YTD and Dataforce highlighted how the continuing stream of offers from leasing companies alongside the convenience provided by LTR means we are unlikely to see this trend abate just yet. It added that the French manufacturers are playing their role but it foreign players are pushing the channel growth and with some significant gains year-to-date.

Inside the top 10, Ford delivered the highest growth with growth of 58.1%, followed by Peugeot with 51.2%. Fiat was the next highest with 50.7% while the Opel saw 38.6%.