Wheel excavators increased by 31% while mini excavators decreased by 1%.
Sales of crawler excavators were up 4% but the wheel excavator market increased by 9%.
With 17,600 units sold last year - both wheel and crawler excavators - France remains the third biggest market in Europe with 16.5% of market share. It is the seventh largest market in the world.
By category, France is the second biggest European market for wheel excavators – 1,940 units sold last year – just behind Germany that saw 2,960 unit sales. Worldwide, France is ranked third with South Korea (3,700 units) the largest market followed by Germany. China is ranked fourth with 1,863 units sold in 2018.
France’s Rhône-Alpes region represents 10% of the national market. It is the biggest region in terms of units sold (1,820 units) immediately followed by the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (9.1% of the total market). The region Ile-de-France (Paris and its suburbs) is ranked third with 1,470 excavators being sold last year. It represents 8.4% of the market.
With regard to sales of crawler excavators, the segment between 2 to 3 tons was the most important last year (31% of the total French market).
Furthermore, France hold the first position in Europe for this segment. The same comment can be made regarding the French wheel excavator market between 8 to 13 tons which represented 45% of the total market.
CISMA is a Paris-based trade association for companies in France that produce and sell equipment for construction as well as the steel industry and handling sector. It also includes component suppliers. CISMA represents the interests of its 200 members - SME, SMI and subsidiaries of international groups - that employ around 31, 000 people in France. These businesses export 58% of their production and generate nearly €9 billion in annual revenue.
The French excavator market rose by 1% in 2018 after a hike of 23% the year before, according to the French trade association CISMA.
