The Yaris Cross is the most French of the Japanese. Toyota picture
Hard to imagine, as the statistics can make you smile: the most produced car in France, over the whole of 2022, is neither a Peugeot, nor a Renault, nor a Citroën and even less a DS. It’s a Toyota: the Yaris Cross, a successful small urban SUV, produced in the Valenciennes factory.
A production in France that works
This is indeed a great mystery of the automotive industry. At a time when French manufacturers have been downsizing their workforce in France for years, and are lowering the share of vehicles produced in France each year, Toyota continues to believe in its French factory located in Hauts-de-France, in Onnaing-Valenciennes.
Last year, 255,584 Toyota brand vehicles were produced in this industrial complex which covers the whole of Europe. Among these vehicles, there are no less than 161,508 Yaris Cross, making this vehicle the most produced car in France in 2022.
The most French manufacturer?
With 36,000 sales in our “Made in France” territory, Toyota has become the brand that has sold the highest proportion of vehicles produced in France. Toyota France registered 113,032 vehicles on the French market in 2022.
Its two brands, Toyota and Lexus, obtained a PC market share of 6.8%, an increase of 0.7 points. In a French market down 10 points, Toyota brand PC and LCV registrations increased by 3.6% in 2022 and reached 109,776 units.
One out of three Toyotas sold in France is produced here. A score higher than the historic French manufacturers, Renault and Peugeot included.
For the first time, the French bought more Toyotas than Citroëns in France. Toyota picture
A historic market share
Producing in France is one thing, seducing French motorists is another. But there too, Toyota has nothing to envy to the French manufacturers. Toyota is now the leading foreign brand in France. But above all, the brand is now the fourth in the retail channel.
Clearly, for the first time, the French have raised the brand to a historic market share of 7.9% in France in 2022. (+0.5 point vs. 2021). But it’s another statistic that makes French manufacturers tremble.
In 2022, Toyota sales exceed Citroën!
If we stick to “real sales”, those made to individuals in France, and not to rental companies, fleets or companies, Toyota’s breakthrough is historic. Indeed, for the first time, the French bought more Toyota than Citroën in France in 2022.
Driven by this success, Toyota aims to exceed the threshold of 280,000 cars produced in France by 2023, while further strengthening its market share in France.
To date, the Valenciennes plant has a workforce of 5,043 people, including 3,747 on permanent contracts and 824 fixed-term contracts. The historic milestone of 4,000 CDIs could be reached by the end of 2024. Toyota looks more and more like… a French manufacturer.
