Excavator sales in France inch upwards 1% for 2018

The French excavator market rose by 1% in 2018 after a hike of 23% the year before, according to the French trade association CISMA. 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
April 17, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
The French excavator market rose by 1% in 2018 after a hike of 23% the year before, according to the French trade association CISMA.


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.

Earthmoving & soil compaction

Related Content

  • French earthmoving market on firm ground, reports CISMA
    February 15, 2019
    The French earthmoving equipment market increased by more than 3% last year - the best year since the market crash of 2008. Heavy earthmoving equipment is up 8.6% to 5,100 machines, according to data compiled by CISMA, a member of France’s Federation of Mechanical Engineering Industries (FIM). However, the increase is much lower for compact equipment, just 2% over in 2018 over 2017. Sales reached 17,250 machines in France, Europe’s third largest market for such equipment. For crawler excavators, th
    Read More
  • Construction machine sales strengthening in Italy
    November 28, 2016
    Construction machine sales are strengthening around the globe. A report from the SaMoTer-Veronafiere Outlook reveals that 7,551 construction machines were sold in Italy over the period from January-September 2016. This represents a gain of 32% from the same period in 2015 and a further increase of 37% is estimated in Italy for the two-year period 2017-2018. Worldwide the first nine months of 2016 saw sales around the world of 496,500 earth moving machines, a drop of around 5,000 less (1%) compared to th
    Read More
  • CEA: UK equipment sales show modest growth in 2018
    February 26, 2019
    Retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment in the UK market grew by 2% in 2018, despite a drop in the last quarter. Prior to the 8% reduction in sales in Q4 (compared with Q4 2017), the trend over the previous two years had been to show steady, but slowing growth each quarter (see graph). Retail sales in the UK market reached nearly 31,000 units, according to the Construction
    Read More
  • Strong equipment exports are aiding Italian construction equipment manufacturers
    May 18, 2012
    Details from the Italian construction equipment manufacturing asscoaition, UNACEA, show that domestic machine sales are still falling, while exports keep on growing. However exports are growing at a slower rate than in 2011. Over the first quarter of 2012, 1,820 construction machines were sold on the Italian market, a drop of 22.4% from the same period in 2011. These included 1,734 earthmoving machines, a fall of 22.4% compared to the first quarter of 2011, while there were 40 road machines sold, a drop of
    Read More

Highlighted Content