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When it comes to legal brands, I believe everyone is very familiar with them, and they already enjoyed a reputation in China in the early days, but with the influence of the market environment, the performance of legal brands in the domestic market has gradually declined, and now the four major brands account for less than 1% of the Chinese market. In addition to the performance of the domestic market, the sales of French brands in the global market have also declined, and the market performance has further shrunk.

According to data released by PSA Group and Renault a few days ago, PSA Group sold a total of 3.5 million vehicles in 2019, down 9.4% from 3.878 million last year, while Renault sold 3.8 million vehicles in 2019, down 3.4% from the same period last year. The decline is smaller than that of the PSA Group.

From the specific market performance of both, there has been a double-digit sharp decline in the Chinese market, of which the decline of PSA Group is more serious, a year-on-year decline of more than 50%.

From the global point of view of the PSA Group, only India, the Pacific, Eastern Europe and Russia have achieved weak growth, while major regional markets such as China and Europe have fluctuated sharply. Among them, the European region totaled 3.029 million vehicles, down 2.5% from the same period last year, still accounting for the largest market; Latin America accumulated sales of 136000 vehicles. Sales in the Middle East and Africa totaled 164000, down 43.7 per cent from a year earlier.

The worst decline was in China and Southeast Asia, where sales totaled 117000 vehicles, down 55.4% from a year earlier, including 114000 in China. Among the regions that achieved growth, India and the Pacific increased slightly by 0.6% to 27000, while Eastern Europe and Russia increased by 2.3% to 16000.

It is not difficult to see that PSA Group is still competitive in its home market, but its sales in China have intensified the influence of PSA Group. However, the constant sales of PSA in Huaneng will not cause it to decline by 10%. It is conceivable that DPCA once sold 700000 vehicles in China, accounting for nearly 20% of the current sales. To this end, PSA Group has also made some measures for the Chinese market in 2109, including the launch of a six-year "yuan" revival strategic plan and electrification transformation, but so far, it has not been effective.

Renault brand in 2019, the degree of decline is not as severe as PSA, whether in the domestic market or other market segments. In all regions of the world, Renault sold 1.946 million vehicles in Europe, up 1.3 per cent from a year earlier, while sales in Africa, the Middle East, India and the Pacific fell 19.3 per cent, while in China, Renault sold 180000 vehicles, down 17.1 per cent from 217000 in 2018.

Although Renault is still unable to break through the predicament in China, Renault entered the domestic market later than DPCA, and its sales and decline are better than DPCA, as a latecomer to enter the Chinese market. Renault still needs to overcome more difficulties.

In fact, judging from the top 10 sales brands in France, the home market of the two car companies, Renault, Peugeot and Citroen are all in the top three, indicating that French cars are still very prominent in the local car market and their popularity. Among them, three major brands have achieved very large sales in the local market.

Judging from the top ten best-selling models, they are: Peugeot 208, Citroen C3, Renault Clio, Peugeot 3008, Dacia sandero, Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008, Peugeot 308, Renault Twingo, Renault Megana. Almost killed by the three major brands, it is worth noting that most of the models are small cars.

In other words, legal cars are not good or bad, but unlike local consumer demand and hot spots, small cars are not in line with national conditions. At the same time, France, as a romantic city, may also have different aesthetic points, leading to the gradual decline of French models in China.

French cars, which once had large sales in China, may be that consumers did not have much choice but to use legal models as a reference, but with the rise of independent brands, legal models gradually become less advantageous.

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