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Summary
The global market for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) has been fluctuating. Despite this, growth was expected due to the increasing needs of e-commerce and logistics. Specifically in France, the LCV market proved resilient. The majority of LCVs in France run on diesel, although environmental regulations are driving manufacturers to develop more fuel-efficient electric and hybrid models. In terms of use, LCV journeys are predominantly short and urban, and make a major contribution to service deliveries, the transport of materials and the delivery of goods. France also benefits from a favorable trade balance, with more exports than imports of LCVs, and the Île-de-France region is the main market for these vehicles.
Ecological concerns are driving a move towards greener commercial vehicles, with Renault and other manufacturers launching electric models. Financing options for LCV purchases show a strong preference for leasing with a purchase option. The market for used light commercial vehicles in France has also grown, particularly sales of vehicles less than a year old.
Trends in the French light commercial vehicle market
The French light commercial vehicle (LCV) market has proved remarkably resilient, and has become increasingly important to the country's logistics and economy, particularly in urban areas and for "last mile" delivery services. One of the main findings of the French LCV market is that demand has reached new heights, with new registrations up by around 4.5% on the previous year. What's more, in France alone, there are between 6 and 7 million LCVs on the road, underlining the crucial role these vehicles play in the French economy.
Most French LCVs are used for services such as mail and deliveries, transport of building materials and personnel transport, accounting for almost half of all LCV trips. In particular, LCV journeys for goods deliveries account for only around 20%. It is important to note that these vehicles have a very stable fleet, with only 5% annual replacement, suggesting a slow aging process with around 25% of vehicles aged 15 years or more.
In the French market, there is a clear preference for national brands, with French companies such as Renault, Peugeot and Citroën holding almost 64% of the national market share. Despite the overall decline in sales in 2020, these trends appear to be holding. Environmental considerations are beginning to play a greater role in the market, with over 95% of LCVs running on diesel, but there is now growing pressure for the production and adoption of electric, hybrid or hydrogen vehicles.
Companies like Peugeot and Renault are pioneering this movement with their all-electric models. Finally, as regards the balance of international trade, France has shown that it exports more light commercial vehicles than it imports, maintaining a large presence on the European market, with the highest export values recorded in transactions with Germany, Belgium and the UK.
In short, the French market for light commercial vehicles is robust, with a clear preference for vehicles manufacturedin short, the French light commercial vehicle market is robust, with a clear preference for domestically-manufactured vehicles and increasing attention to environmental regulations, leading to a shift towards cleaner, more efficient vehicle options. With LCVs forming an integral part of the country's logistics and delivery infrastructure, the market is set to retain its importance and potentially grow as e-commerce and delivery service demands continue to increase
The French light commercial vehicle (LCV) market is dominated by several key players
Many of these players originate from within the country, and have firmly established themselves not only within national borders, but also in the international sphere.
These industry giants include some of the most renowned automotive brands, which have made a significant contribution to shaping the light commercial vehicle sector through their innovative designs, reliable performance and adaptation to growing environmental concerns.
- Renault: With its popular models such as the Renault Kangoo and Master ZE, the Renault Group is a leading figure in the French light commercial vehicle market. The brand has strengthened its position by focusing on electric vehicles, launching the Kangoo ZE and Master ZE, which meet the growing demand for environmentally-friendly transport solutions.
- PSA: The PSA Group, which includes renowned brands such as Peugeot and Citroën, has an impressive market share. Vehicles such as the Peugeot Boxer and Citroën Berlingo are household names in the minivan segment, offering robust and versatile options for both commercial and personal use. Peugeot's foray into electric commercial vehicles with the introduction of the e-Expert reinforces its commitment to sustainable development.
- Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz, although not French, maintains a strong presence in the French light commercial vehicle market. Renowned for its luxury and precision engineering, Mercedes offers practical, sophisticated models such as the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and eVito, combining its high-quality brand image with the functionality required in the light commercial vehicle sector.
- FIAT: The FIAT Group is a leading competitor with its Dobló and Ducato models, which come in traditional and hybrid versions. Its subsidiary, Iveco, also contributes to the market with vehicles such as the Daily Natural Power van, which runs on natural gas and is an attractive alternative for environmentally conscious buyers.
- Nissan With innovative products such as the e-NV200, Nissan stands out for its commitment to electric mobility in the light commercial vehicle market. This model is particularly noteworthy for its unique battery technology, which enables energy to be recycled back into the electrical grid.
- Ford: Ford has also taken up the challenge of ecological transport with models such as the Transit Custom PHEV. The introduction of this plug-in hybrid vehicle combines Ford's reliable performance with cutting-edge technology to reduce vehicle emissions.
These manufacturers form the backbone of the French light commercial vehicle market, a sector characterized by its diversity.
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- Number of pages : 30 pages
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- Last update : 18/02/2021
Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of the study
A light commercial vehicle (LCV) is defined as a four-wheeled motor vehicle whose gross vehicle weight does not exceed 3.5 metric tonnes. They are generally used for the transportation of goods. While this is a technical definition it is quite broad and a they can be categorised by their typology
- Van (i.e. Peugot Boxer or Renault Rifter
- Mini-van (i.e. Renault Kangoo or Citroën Berlingo. This can be seated or unseated, with only the first row having 3 seats)
- Pick-up truck
- Mini-truck (i.e. Nissan Cabstar)
- Other (i.e. Piaggio Ape)
The global LCV market has been in constant fluctuation in recent years, it peaked in 2016 and proceeded to record decade lows in 2018 and 2019. Naturally, the COVID-19 pandemic did not help and the market suffered further. In France however, 2019 saw record sales for this market and it grew by 4.5% compared to 2018.
LCVs are a key part of the logistics sector and particularly in the 'last-mile' delivery of goods. These types of vehicles are also used for the delivery of services and occasionally used for transportation of people. With the advent of e-commerce, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, these vehicles are becoming even more crucial to the economy of urban centers. Consumers and manufacturers are becoming more acutely aware of the environmental challenges ahead and are complying with increasing regulations with more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly LCVs being manufactured and bought each year. Due to this R&D in this market is also significant.
In France, French manufacturing companies such as Groupe Renault and Groupe PSA control an very significant share of the market. Other foreign groups such as Fiat Group, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Ford have smaller but still significant shares of the national market
1.2 The Global Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) Market
The global light commercial vehicle (***). After reaching its peak in ****, this market saw three continuous years of gradual decline. This market is in part driven by both Asian producers and consumers, who make up a significant part of both the segments. In this region LCVs are often used by companies as ...
1.3 The Peaking French Market
France is the European country with the most light commercial vehicles in circulation registered, counting *.* million vehicles in **** which is around **% of the whole French motor vehicle fleet. Every year only *% of French LCVs are replaced, resulting in a very stable fleet. These type of vehicles age quite slowly, and **% of ...
1.4 An important continental exporter
Overall, France exports more LCVs than it imoprts. However this was not the case right after the financial crisis of ****. In **** imports were still higher than exports, however by **** this trend was reversed. In that year *.* billion euros worth of LVCs were exoprted throughout the world with *.* billion euros imported. The ...
1.5 The Impact of COVID-19
Very few markets were spared by economic effects of the COVID-** pandemic, the French LCV market was not one of them. After growing by a further *.*% in the month of January, lockdown started being enforced and with the decreased movement of goods and people this market was instantly hit. In **** France ...
2 Demand Analysis
2.1 Short, working day urban trips, both in time and distance
When speaking of vehicle movement a trip is considered a one way movement between two points. The average trip for a light commercial vehicle in France is * hours, including loading and discharing. In fact, **% of these trips are inferior to ***km and **% are inferior to **km. The longest typology of trips ...
2.2 Seasonal ebbs and flows
The light commercial vehicle market is tightly intertwined with the logistics sector and it is crucial in the transportation goods. This market had been steadily growing in France for * years prior to **** and had seen important postitive month-to-month and year-to-year growth figures. There appears to be a correlation between LCV purchases ...
2.3 Île-de-France vs, a well known story
The map below illustrates the concentration of new registrations of light commercial vehicles in ****. The Île-de-France region dominates France with almost **.*** newly registered vehicles, a **.*% growth from the previous year. The region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes comes in second place with almost **.*** newly registered LCVs in ****, growing less than *% from ****. It is ...
2.4 Personal use, Construction and Commerce
Of the almost * million light commercial vehicles in circulation in France **% are employed for personal or artisanal use while **% are used by businesses, associations and administrations (***).
Purpose for the use of LCVs France, **** by % Source: ****
Purpose for the use of LCVs France, **** in ***s Source: ****
Over one quarter of the LCVs ...
2.5 Environmental regulation pressures
Over **% of light commercial vehicles in France use diesel as fuel, with gas, electric and hybrid cars making up a tiny share. In France, there is a vignette/sticker known as Crit'air which grades vehicular emission based on European environmental standards. Vehicles are ranked starting from green (***). Vehicles included in this ...
3 Market structure
3.1 The French love their own
France is the first European country in terms of usage and purchase of light commercial vehicles. There are currently around * million LCVs in circulation on French roads and hundreds of thousands are sold each year. These type of vehicles are vital to the French economy. Light commercial vehicles serve very specific ...
3.2 Financing
In France, renting with the option to buy is by far the most popular scheme for buyers of light commercial vehicles that go through a financial institution to complete their purchase. In fact, in **** **.*% of people seeking financing to buy their LCV or industrial vehicle chose this option, followed by **.*% who ...
3.3 Second-hand purchases
**** was a positive year for the second hand purchases of light commercial vehicles. A total of ***.*** second hand sales were recorded, an increase of *% from **** and the first time that the ***.*** mark was surpssed since ****. Unexpectedly, French brands continue to dominate these type of sales with over two thirds of transactions ...
4 Analysis of the offer
4.1 Different shapes and sizes
Light commercial vehicles are four-wheeled motor vehicles generally used for the carriage of goods. Light commercial vehicles do not surpass *.* tonnes of weight. This is a rather broad definition and many different types of vehicle models fall into this category. The most common are:
Van (***) Mini-van (***) Pick-up truck Mini-truck (***) Other (***)
In ...
4.2 Limited purchase options
The purchase of new light commercial vehicles in France is mainly restricted to two channels:
Directly from manufacturers (***) Other (***)
New LCV purchases in France predominantly take place directly from manufacturers, which is a historic tendency. Generally, LCV purchasers have a unique profile and need these types of vehicles for specific purposes, ...
4.3 LCVs going green
To adhere to past, present (***).
The FIAT Group is also heavily invested in this ecological transition. In fact, since the late ****s it proposes fully hybrid Dobló and Ducato models along side its more traditional models. The case is the same regarding FIAT's filial partner Iveco having introduced the Daily Natural ...
4.4 Externalities: environment, noise, accidents, and traffic
In France, light commecial vehicles emit on average *.* times more green house gasses than heavy trucks. However average LCV emissions have been steadily decreasing. In fact, in *** LCVs emitted ***.*g of CO* per kilometer while today the figure is ***.*. The calculated environmental costs in France due to LCVs is estimated to ...
5 Regulation
5.1 Regulation
Commercial vehicles have a maximum weight of *.* tons or less. While private individuals can acquire this type of vehicle (***), they are more specifically intended for professionals, such as craftsmen or SMEs in general. While they retain the mechanical components of passenger cars, their monocoque structure is specific to accept larger volumes ...
5.2 European environmental norms
Euro-standards for heavy goods vehicles
Since the early ****s, several regulations have been made and implemented to combat the harmful impact of trucks on roads. Since ****, we have been talking about "Euro Standards". These standards impose limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides (***) and particles. As a result, pollutant emissions from vehicles ...
6 Positioning of the players
6.1 Segmentation
- Fiat Ducato
- Volkswagen Group
- La Poste
- UPS
- Véolia Groupe
- Nissan
- Daimler Trucks and Buses (Mercedes)
- Stellantis (Groupe PSA et Fiat)
- PSA Peugeot Citroen
- Opel (Stellantis)
- Isuzu
- Fuso
- Piaggio
- Maxus (Saic)
- Seat (Vokswagen group)
- Skoda (Vokswagen Group)
- Goupil (Polaris Group)
- Liberty Electric Motion LEM
List of charts
- Marché mondial des mini-van et des VUL
- Pays ayant le plus grand nombre de VUL immatriculés en Europe
- Répartition des ventres de VUL par type de moteur
- Répartition du marché des VUL
- Importations, exportations et taux de couverture du marché des VUL
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Latest news
Veolia's plan for growth in energy - 13/01/2024
- The group already generates a quarter of its sales (just over 10 billion out of almost 43 billion euros in 2022) from the operation of heating networks, the recovery of energy from waste and wastewater, and energy-related services.
- The Group, which has positioned itself in the field of "decarbonizing local energy", estimates that it will be worth 500 billion euros in Europe by 2030
- Services related to energy efficiency in buildings and industry could represent a market worth 200 billion euros by 2030
- Green energy supply and heating/cooling networks could be worth 150 billion euros by 2030.
- The operation of heating networks is Veolia's main energy business (revenues of 5.9 billion euros in 2022),
- Veolia operates more than 500 networks.
Stellantis takes a radical turn in China. - 09/12/2023
- Signature of a strategic partnership with Chinese automotive start-up Leapmotor.
- Stellantis will acquire a stake of around 21% in the company for a total of 1.5 billion euros.
- The two companies will also set up a joint venture, Leapmotor International, 51% owned by Stellantis.
- Based in the Netherlands, it will "have exclusive rights to manufacture, export and sell Leapmotor products outside China"
- The Leapmotor International joint venture is targeting 500,000 sales outside China by 2030.
- Deliveries from the Leapmotor International joint venture are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2024.
- Stellantis terminated its joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) in July 2022.
- Stellantis sold three local plants to the Chinese group Dongfeng.
A hydrogen pick-up: Stellantis' answer to Tesla's Cybertruck - 06/12/2023
- Stellantis aims to launch a hydrogen version of a RAM pickup in the USA in late 2026 or early 2027.
- The hydrogen-powered pickup promises a recharge time of less than ten minutes.
- Stellantis also plans to produce a hydrogen-powered utility vehicle at "industrial volumes" in Hordain, northern France, from next year.
- Toyota, another major manufacturer, presented a prototype Hilux that runs on hydrogen.
- Rivian, a new manufacturer, has already started selling its electric van, backed by Amazon and Ford.
Philippe Wahl: "La Poste, multi-functional" | Philippe Wahl: "La Poste, multi-functional" - 04/12/2023
- The number of letters sent in 2023 will be six billion, compared with 18 billion fifteen years ago.
- La Poste employs some 240,000 people, including 65,000 letter carriers.
- La Poste's plan calls for the delivery of five million meals by 2023, in over 200 towns and cities.
- la Poste, which specializes in parcels in France and abroad, accounts for 52% of La Poste group's sales
- La Poste develops a digital safe service with Docaposte.
Veolia to sell its engineering subsidiary SADE - 27/11/2023
- SADE's annual sales are expected to reach around 1.1 billion euros in 2022.
- SADE employs around 6900 people.
United Kingdom: Nissan invests £1.12 billion in electric cars - 24/11/2023
- Nissan has announced an investment of over £1 billion in the construction of two new electric car models.
- The UK automotive industry contributes £71 billion a year to the UK economy.
- 7.more than 1,000 Nissan employees and 30,000 supply chain employees in the UK
- In 2021, Nissan and its battery supplier AESC announced a £1 billion investment in the Sunderland site to build its first gigafactory.
- German carmaker BMW announced an investment of over £600 million in the electrification of Mini cars in the UK.
- Tata, owner of Jaguar Land Rover, announced a £4 billion investment in an electric battery mega-plant in the UK.
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