Where are the French cars you’ll buy in 2023 made?
Buying a car in 2023 has become a real hurdle: extended delivery times, choice of engine and bodywork, new or recently used… it’s hard to see clearly for many of you, especially on top of the skyrocketing prices in recent years that investment requires more thought. But to these obstacles is sometimes added, among others, the desire to provide work in French.
Buying a French instead of a car made in Asia or Africa and avoiding any kind of dumping is not an easy task. because a good part of French brand cars are not made in France. This is especially true for compact and city cars in the B segment, which are bought the most in France: manufacturers prefer to make them in countries with cheaper production, because they are less profitable model. .
Where are French cars made in 2023?
For a long time French cars were 100% made in France. Renault specifically blew the fuse with the Spanish factory in Palencia in the mid-1970s. Of the three (or even four, if we count Dacia) French brands or French groups, Citroën is the smallest French manufacturer as only the C5 Aircross is assembled within our borders.
Citroën
Only a Frenchwoman at Citroën, therefore, with a C-segment SUV produced next to the Peugeot 5008. For others, Citroën has moved further, including North Africa where production will be even cheaper than in Europe from the east. The C5 X is straight from China, the exclusive producer of the big sedan.image
Model | Plant |
---|---|
Modelfriend | PlantKenitra (Morocco) |
ModelC3 | PlantTrnava (Slovakia) |
ModelC3 Aircross | PlantZaragoza (Spain) |
ModelC4 and e-C4 | PlantMadrid, Spain) |
ModelC4X and e-C4X | PlantMadrid, Spain) |
ModelC5 Aircross | PlantRennes (France) |
ModelC5X | PlantChengdu (China) |
Dacia
Not surprisingly, there is no French car in Dacia that cannot maintain current prices with an equivalent workforce in a Renault made here. Most models come from Romania except Spring: electric and reasonable, yes, but Chinese!image

Model | Plant |
---|---|
Modelspring | PlantShiyan (China) |
ModelSandero | PlantTangier (Morocco) |
ModelSandero Stepway | PlantPitesti (Romania) |
ModelDuster | PlantPitesti (Romania) |
Modeljogger | PlantPitesti (Romania) |
DS
With its superior positioning, DS is able to support production costs in France. If the DS 4 went to Germany in Opel, the rest of the range is French, except for the long DS 9, Chinese like Spring.image

Model | Plant |
---|---|
ModelDS3 | PlantPoissy (France) |
ModelDS4 | PlantRusselheim (Germany) |
ModelDS7 | PlantMulhouse (France) |
ModelDS9 | PlantShenzhen (China) |
Peugeot
The lion brand is the one with the most manufacturers in France, especially with almost all the C segment assembled here. On the other hand, the lower segments are produced abroad. picture

Model | Plant |
---|---|
Model208 | PlantKenitra (Morocco) and Trnava (Slovakia) |
Modele-208 | PlantZaragoza (Spain) |
Model2008/e-2008 | PlantVigo (Spain) |
Model308 | Plant Mulhouse (France) |
Modele-308 | Plant Mulhouse (France) |
Model408 | Plant Mulhouse (France) |
Modele-408 | Plant Mulhouse (France) |
Model508 | Plant Mulhouse (France) |
Model3008 | PlantSochaux (France) |
Model5008 | PlantSochaux (France) |
Renault
Despite the desire to re-industrialize in France with the Mégane E-Tech and, later, the Renault 4 and 5, the diamond brand works for the moment mainly abroad. And it is not the small French flag in Austral that will deceive its world: the latest born was built by the Spanish employees of Palencia, a factory assigned for a long time to the C segment at Renault.

Model | Plant |
---|---|
ModelTwingo/Twingo ZE | PlantNovo Mesto (Slovenia) |
ModelZoe | PlantFlins (France) |
ModelClio | PlantBursa (Turkey) and Novo Mesto (Slovenia) |
ModelCaptur/Captur E-Tech | PlantValladolid (Spain) |
ModelMegane E-Tech (EV) | PlantDouai (France) |
ModelMegan IV | PlantPalencia (Spain) |
ModelArcana | PlantBusan (South Korea) |
ModelSouth | PlantPalencia (Spain) |