Renault Twingo tops French EV sales in October 2026

The new Renault Twingo was France's best-selling electric car in October 2026, with 4,747 registrations. It narrowly beat the Renault 5, which took 4,666. According to AAA Data figures published on 1 November, 61,958 new electric cars were registered in the month, or 41% of the market.

Overall new-car sales rose 7% year on year. Electric cars sit just behind all hybrids combined, at 44%, but lead once plug-in hybrids are counted separately from other hybrids. EVs account for 45% of private buyers' purchases and 46% of fleet registrations. Social leasing and subsidies funded by energy savings certificates (CEE) have pushed buyers to switch, notably as petrol prices spiked.

A very French top seven

The first seven places all went to French-brand models, four of them built in France: the Renault 5, Scénic, Peugeot e-3008 and Renault 4. The Peugeot e-208 was third with 3,221 units and the Citroën ë-C3 fifth with 2,736. The Peugeot e-3008 was sixth with 1,875, seven times its October 2025 figure. Like the Scénic, it is not eligible for social leasing and targets company fleets. It is also short of the 97 kWh long-range batteries supplied by ACC.

The Renault 4 took seventh place with 1,786 units, up 69.8% on the year, ahead of the Tesla Model Y at 1,748. Tesla usually concentrates deliveries at the end of each quarter, so a weak start is typical. The Model 3 fell to 27th with 662. Renault said the Plein Sud canvas roof made up 50% of Iconic-trim R4 orders in Europe last month.

Volkswagen slips, Kia returns

The Volkswagen brand placed no model in the top 20. The ID.4 was 24th with 757 units, the new ID. Polo 25th with 751, and the ID.3 fell to 38th with 468, probably because of the ID.3 Neo changeover. The Skoda Elroq slipped to 13th with 1,067.

The Kia EV2 entered ninth with 1,506 registrations, giving Kia its first top-10 model since the e-Niro in 2023. The EV4 was 14th. BMW's iX1 (11th) and Mercedes' CLA (20th) held top-20 places.