French media reported in January the French vehicle license registration declined by 15%, the French automotive industry recession continued. Too much demand for small cars leads to the predicament of the local automotive industry in France.
In the whole of 2012 and January of 2013, the number of French small car registration accounted for 53% of the total number of vehicles, while the West European average was only 40%. French labor costs are too high, a Clio4 type of automobile production costs in Turkey are € 1,300 lower than that in metropolitan France. Plus littlie profit margins of small car itself, it is difficult for car manufacturers to gain more profits.
At the same time, compact car sales in France were 32%, close to the average in Western Europe. The high-end models were 12%, lower than the Western European average of 18%. High-end car market share in France is only 4%, much lower than the average of 13% of Western Europe's.
