Electrification and the death of diesel seem to be the two breasts of political discourse about the automobile today. The figures seem to support those who speak of a rapid transition. According to CCFA data, diesel is in free fall from a market share of 34.1% in 2019 (755,579 units) to 30.6% in 2020 (504,178 registrations) and 21.1% in 2021 (349,482 units). The same goes for petrol engines, whose market share fell from 57.9% in 2019 (1,281,802 units) to 46.9% in 2020 (774,383 registrations) and 40.2% in 2021 (667,503 units).

But the figures provided by the organization are a sham, since they do not include light hybridization models. Indeed, it is difficult not to consider cars equipped with an alternator-starter operating at a voltage of 12 Volts, 24 Volts or 48 Volts as simple optimized thermal models. In the same way as an automatic stop-start system, this device allows you to grab a few grams of CO₂ on official measurement cycles without revolutionizing car driving. It is impossible to drive in all-electric mode with such a mechanism, unlike a full hybrid, like those of Toyota for example. Moreover, the ranges of certain manufacturers (Hyundai, Ford, Renault, etc.) combine hybrids and mild hybrids. Not to mention that mild hybrids supplant thermal models when they are launched, never truly hybrid models.

Mild hybrids account for 35% of hybrid sales

If the arguments are numerous to consider light hybrids as optimized thermal models, their sales are nevertheless officially counted among the hybrids, since they are entitled to such a gray card. This is capable of distorting the statistics, since according to AAA Data figures no less than 148,874 light hybrids were sold in France in 2021. This represents 35% of sales of hybrid models.

By reintegrating data from AAA Data on mild hybrids in the market among thermal models, the announced drop in sales of gasoline and diesel models is logically softer. Diesel thus goes from a market share of 34.6% in 2019 (766,578 units) to 31.9% in 2020 (526,602 registrations) and 23.2% in 2021 (384,507 units). For petrol engines, the market share fell from 58.6% in 2019 (1,297,392 units) to 50.6% in 2020 (835,505 registrations) and 46.9% in 2021 (778,438 units). The decline in petrol and diesel engines has therefore been real over the past three years. But it should also be remembered that manufacturers, partly under the effect of the regulations concerning CO₂ and on the other hand the shortage of semiconductors oriented sales towards the models that suited them the most. We will probably have to wait until 2023 to see a market uninfluenced by external factors, where the models delivered will actually be those chosen by customers.