New car sales drop by 7.8% in France in 2022

PARIS (Reuters) – Sales of new cars in France dropped by 7.8% in 2022, data from industry body Plateforme de la filière automobile (PFA) showed on Sunday, even as a pick-up in the car market towards the end of the year helped soften the blow.

New car sales have bounced back since August following months of falls that were caused by a chip shortage and consumers’ lack of appetite for big-ticket spending against a backdrop of soaring inflation.

(Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Andrew Heavens)