Skip to main content

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.

Related Content

  • UK equipment sales continue upward trend
    February 4, 2022
    UK construction equipment sales showed a 48% increase in 2021 compared with 2020.
  • INTERMAT organisers see strong growth in construction
    December 12, 2017
    The organisers of the upcoming INTERMAT trade show for construction and infrastructure see strong growth for the sector. The INTERMAT organisers have unveiled the first Construction Industry Observatory report, which was produced in association with French government agency, Business France. The report provides construction-equipment manufacturers with strategic data on 12 countries in the EMEA zone. These nations have been selected for their planned investment levels in infrastructure, which total €1,600
  • Wacker Neuson’s strong results for 2019
    March 18, 2020
    Wacker Neuson reports strong results for 2019.
  • Italian equipment sales remain strong to Q3 2018
    January 10, 2019
    Italian construction machinery exports reached nearly €2.2 billion for the first nine months of 2018, up 6.2% on the same period 2017. Imports were also up, rising 14.4% to hit €710 million, according to the latest surveys made available by the SaMoTer - Prometeia Observatory based on the information input from Unacea, the Italian construction equipment manufacturers’ association. Italian-built earthmoving machinery and equipment took the largest share of orders from abroad, worth more than €1 billio