Number of Used Car Dealers in France: 44,400 in 2026

How many used car dealers: which question are you asking?#

As of November 2, 2026, Scalon estimates that about 44,400 sales locations sell used cars in France. A sales location is a place open to the public, with its own address: a dealership, a repair shop, a dealer's lot.

This figure answers a specific question. Other questions call for other numbers. The table sets them out.

The right answer therefore depends on the question. To know how many places sell used cars, use 44,400. To target manufacturers and their networks, use 13,300. To target dealers outside manufacturer networks, use 30,200. To build a list from the register, use 95,604, but expect a lot of filtering.

These 44,400 sales locations cover France, including its overseas territories; mainland France and Corsica have 43,500. This market overlaps with the 69,062 auto repair shops in mainland France, rather than adding to it: a dealership or repair shop that sells used cars also has a repair workshop and may appear in both totals. Do not add the two figures together.

In practice: if you sell software, warranties or financing, do not size your market at 95,604. You would count more than 2 rows for 1 actual sales location.

Why do used car dealer counts vary so much?#

Published used car dealer figures do not count the same thing. Four units get mixed together: the company, the employer establishment, the sales location counted per brand and the actual sales location.

Take a simple example. A group operates 10 dealerships and distributes 3 brands. Company-level economic statistics count the group as one company. An establishment file shows 10 rows. A list by brand may count each dealership once per brand it distributes. An actual sales location is a place: 10 for this group.

All four counts are valid. They answer different questions. Comparing their totals without keeping the unit consistent means comparing companies, employees and addresses.

What other sources say, with the numbers#

The register shows the largest gap; level 1 below shows what it actually contains.

In practice: a list purchased solely by activity code mixes actual dealers with registrations that have no sales location. It also misses some repair shops. Before buying a prospect list, ask what each row represents.

The used car market is stable, but professional sellers account for a shrinking share. In 2025, 5.5 million used passenger cars were sold in France, up 0.9%, according to the SDES, the statistics service of the ministère de la Transition écologique (France's ecological transition ministry). According to AAA Data, cited by Le Journal de l'Automobile, sales by professionals to individuals fell 11.3%, to 2.203 million.

How large are the accounts?#

From October 26 to 29, 2026, we recorded 675,820 used vehicles (cars, light commercial vehicles and motorhomes) offered for sale by 20,116 sales locations, counting vehicles listed on multiple sites only once.

The typical dealer lists only a few: half of the sales locations have 11 vehicles for sale or fewer. One in four has 3 or fewer. At the other end, 1,446 sales locations list 100 or more.

Inventory is highly concentrated. The 10% of sales locations that list the most vehicles hold 56% of them; a single group account lists 31,286. Among sales locations for which we collected listings, a typical location within manufacturer networks lists 30 vehicles, compared with 10 for a dealer or repair shop outside manufacturer networks.

These cars are 6.8 years old on average and have an average odometer reading of 75,000 km. Fewer than 1 in 5 (17%) is under 2 years old with under 60,000 km.

Team size confirms the gap. Headcount is known for only some sales locations: 9,549 of the 30,154 outside manufacturer networks, and 9,917 of the 13,347 within them. Among these, 73% of those outside the networks employ 5 people or fewer, compared with 32% within them; 4% of locations outside the networks employ 20 people or more, compared with 22% within them. Outside manufacturer networks, about 3,200 sales locations operate as sole proprietorships.

In practice: for vendors of inventory management software, warranties or financing, a repair shop that resells 4 cars and a group that lists several hundred are very different accounts. The 1,446 sales locations with 100 vehicles or more form a short list to treat as key accounts.

How much revenue do used car dealers generate?#

Insee puts motor vehicle trade revenue at €164.5 billion in 2023, across 36,033 companies. This figure covers new vehicles, used vehicles and heavy trucks.

Scalon took a closer look at the companies operating the identified sales locations. A total of 4,271 companies in automotive sales or repair, excluding manufacturers, importers and rental companies, publish financial statements (fiscal year ended in 2024 or later). That is about 1 in 8 of the 33,802 companies linked to these sales locations. Together, they generate €95.2 billion. This amount covers all of each company's activities: new vehicles, used vehicles, repairs and parts.

Among these 4,271 companies, mostly the larger ones, half exceed €5.0 million. A company with a single sales location typically generates €2.2 million.

The channel changes everything:

• within manufacturer networks, the typical company generates €15.7 million;
• outside those networks, it generates €1.0 million, a roughly 16-fold difference.

The 2,761 companies within manufacturer networks generate 90.8% of published revenue. Companies outside the networks generate the rest.

Small companies are numerous but account for little revenue. The 519 companies with €50 million or more generate 60.6% of published revenue. The top 10 companies alone generate 11.3%, and the top 100 generate 28.0%.

Chart data

Company's sales locations	Companies	Published revenue
1 sales location	3,133	€29.4 billion
2 to 9 sales locations	1,109	€53.6 billion
10 sales locations or more	29	€12.1 billion

The major groups can be found in the trade press. Le Journal de l'Automobile ranks distribution groups by their 2025 revenue: Autosphere €4,383 million, BYmyCAR €3,500 million.

Keep two limitations in mind. Small companies publish their accounts less often. And this figure covers more than used cars alone.

In practice: a software vendor or finance company does not charge the same price to a company with €1.0 million in revenue and a group with €50 million. Revenue indicates how much the buyer can spend. It also shows where the money is: companies with 2 to 9 sales locations alone generate €53.6 billion.

Level 1. The full picture: from the register to sales locations#

This study moves from the broadest view to the most detailed, in six levels. The first compares the register with actual sales locations.

The register counts 85,522 open establishments in mainland France under the car trade code. Only about 1 in 4 corresponds to an identified sales location: 21,337.

Viewed from the actual market, the gap is just as clear. Of the estimated 43,500 sales locations in mainland France and Corsica, only 18,397 are registered under car trade (45.11Z). Another 9,731 are registered as repair shops (45.20A), 11,230 have no establishment linked to the register, and 4,142 fall under another code. Within manufacturer networks, 33.8% of sales locations are registered under repair (45.20A).

Chart data

Establishment's activity code	Estimated sales locations	Share
Car trade (45.11Z)	18,397	42.3%
No establishment linked to the register	11,230	25.8%
Maintenance and repair (45.20A)	9,731	22.4%
Other activity code	3,256	7.5%
Other vehicles (45.19Z)	886	2.0%
Total	43,501	100%

In practice: the register and the actual market overlap only partly. A list drawn from code 45.11Z misses more than half of sales locations and keeps thousands of registrations with no storefront.

Level 2. 44,400 dealers: proven, probable, overseas#

Among the 52,064 identified sales locations, used car sales are proven for 25,586: a current listing under their name, or their place in a manufacturer's network. They are probable for another 26,478, automotive sellers with no listing collected in late October.

Our web checks show that 96% of the first group do sell used cars. In the second group, 64 of the 90 sales locations whose status we could determine sell them. That gives about 24,700 and 18,800 dealers. With about 900 sales locations in the French overseas territories, estimated from the register, the total reaches 44,400. The limits of this calculation are in the method section.

All the breakdowns below cover these 43,500 sales locations in mainland France and Corsica. To go from the 52,064 identified locations to this total, each location is weighted by its probability of selling used cars: 96% if sales are proven, 71% if they are probable. Only inventory, which is based on collected listings, and revenue, which is based on companies, have their own base, stated each time.

In practice: for a campaign, start with the 25,586 proven sellers. They have online listings and inventory to finance, cover with warranties or manage. Probable sellers need an initial call to find out whether they sell used cars.

Level 3. Channel: inside or outside a manufacturer network#

The channel tells you whether a sales location belongs to a manufacturer's network.

"Outside manufacturer networks" means that no link to a manufacturer is established, either by reading its pages (dealership, brand agent) or through public evidence from the brand. This is the same rule used on the number of auto repair shops in France page, which calls these repair shops "independent"; here, an independent must also be outside any chain, franchise, buying group or dealer group, as defined below. See also independent auto repair shops and repair shops that fit tires.

Within manufacturer networks, we distinguish 5,903 dealerships and 998 brand agents, established by reading their pages, and 6,337 "dealership or brand agent" locations whose public pages do not resolve the question. Of the latter, 3,112 are linked to the networks through public evidence from the brand: a record in the manufacturer's locator, a used car label such as Spoticar, a brand-specific "dealership" category, or text naming the contract ("authorized Nissan dealer"). Checked online on a draw of 100, these links are correct for 93% of the locations that could be decided (70 of 75); details are in the method section. Another 109 locations under a manufacturer's used car label are classified as used car dealers. These numbers are estimates, like the rest of the table.

Two publicly available counts serve as benchmarks. L'argus counts 13,460 manufacturer-network sales locations as of January 1, 2026, with Renault and Dacia counted as a single network. As of October 23, 2026, labaseauto.com reports 4,402 dealerships and 6,540 brand agents, totaling 10,942. We count 13,300, between the two. Matching the lists would be needed to explain the differences.

In practice: nearly a third of the market is tied to a manufacturer. The offer is often negotiated at brand or group level. The remaining two thirds are outside those networks: most decide individually, sales location by sales location.

Level 4. Business type: dealers and repair shops that sell cars#

Outside manufacturer networks, business type separates two worlds: the used car dealer, who makes a living from sales, and the repair shop, which also sells used cars alongside its repair business.

Business type is established in three ways. For 5,738 sales locations, by reading their pages: their description says whether they carry out repairs. For 18,640, through their public categories: a repair shop category (repairs, bodywork, maintenance) makes them repair shops that sell used cars; a sales-only category ("used cars", trader) makes them used car dealers. For 1,959, through the activity code declared in the register, when no other signal is available: trade makes them used car dealers, repair makes them repair shops. The 3,728 "unclassified" locations have none of these signals.

Two independent reviewers rechecked 100 randomly drawn sales locations: public evidence contradicted the business type for 7 of them. After the rules were corrected, a second draw of 100 locations shows only 4. The details are in the method section.

In practice: used car dealers depend on inventory turnover, while repair shops that sell cars depend on revenue from repairs. Inventory financing appeals to the first. Warranties or trade-in offers appeal to both. A listing tool mainly targets the dealer.

Level 5. Car brands, used car labels and storefront names#

We could identify the car brand for only 4,681 of the 13,347 manufacturer-network locations, including 1,337 carrying several brands; the count by brand in the expandable section below is therefore incomplete and does not rank the networks.

Brands identified for 4,681 of 13,347 locations: this is not a network ranking

Car brand	Sales locations
Peugeot	1,539
Citroën	1,206
Renault	591
Volkswagen	257
Opel	239
Fiat	199
Dacia	179

Beyond the car brand, 4,977 sales locations display at least one storefront name. We grouped the 29 storefront names with 8 sales locations or more by type.

The chain type tells you who decides. In a franchise, the franchisor and the franchisee make the decisions. Under a label, the dealership. In a dealer association, the individual member makes the decision.

An example makes this clear. Spoticar brings together 1,222 sales locations operated by 732 different companies. It is a label, not a buyer. Signing with Spoticar does not give you 1,222 customers. You need to win over the companies individually, or secure a brand-level agreement.

In practice: a storefront name helps you find and sort accounts. It does not offer a single point of entry. Distribution groups and company-owned branches are exceptions: decisions are centralized.

Level 6. Where are the used car dealers?#

Relative to population, dealers are more numerous in rural areas than in big cities. In mainland France, we estimate 63 sales locations per 100,000 inhabitants.

Aveyron has 108 per 100,000 inhabitants, Haute-Marne 94, Vosges 90. Hauts-de-Seine has only 32, Paris 37, Val-de-Marne 38. There are more than three times as many dealers per inhabitant in Aveyron as in Hauts-de-Seine. Where people need a car, there are more dealers.

The 13 regions

Region	Estimated sales locations	Market share	Share within manufacturer networks
Île-de-France	5,881	13.5%	24.0%
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes	5,822	13.4%	31.4%
Occitanie	4,419	10.2%	29.3%
Nouvelle-Aquitaine	4,296	9.9%	32.4%
Grand Est	4,131	9.5%	28.3%
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur	3,673	8.4%	28.3%
Hauts-de-France	3,545	8.2%	31.8%
Pays de la Loire	2,724	6.3%	33.7%
Bretagne	2,306	5.3%	38.0%
Normandie	2,249	5.2%	37.3%
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté	2,119	4.9%	36.4%
Centre-Val de Loire	1,870	4.3%	31.7%
Region unknown	260	0.6%	1.9%
Corse	207	0.5%	39.8%
Total, mainland France and Corsica	43,501	100%	30.7%

Departments, from most to fewest sales locations

Department	Estimated sales locations	Per 100,000 inhabitants	Share within manufacturer networks
Nord (59)	1,509	58	28.9%
Bouches-du-Rhône (13)	1,304	62	27.0%
Rhône (69)	1,219	64	28.9%
Gironde (33)	1,024	61	26.4%
Haute-Garonne (31)	957	65	24.8%
Isère (38)	932	72	29.7%
Loire-Atlantique (44)	895	60	32.6%
Seine-et-Marne (77)	890	61	29.1%
Var (83)	885	79	26.4%
Yvelines (78)	863	58	31.4%
Pas-de-Calais (62)	855	59	33.3%
Hérault (34)	851	69	27.1%
Bas-Rhin (67)	835	72	26.1%
Moselle (57)	829	79	23.1%
Essonne (91)	821	61	25.1%
Val-d'Oise (95)	797	62	20.8%
Alpes-Maritimes (06)	787	70	24.1%
Paris (75)	772	37	17.1%
Ille-et-Vilaine (35)	761	68	30.2%
Seine-Maritime (76)	697	55	37.9%
Loire (42)	678	88	24.9%
Seine-Saint-Denis (93)	670	39	15.0%
Maine-et-Loire (49)	631	76	31.4%
Haute-Savoie (74)	601	70	33.9%
Oise (60)	592	71	30.6%
Haut-Rhin (68)	589	76	27.1%
Finistère (29)	588	63	44.9%
Vendée (85)	588	82	34.2%
Val-de-Marne (94)	535	38	22.6%
Hauts-de-Seine (92)	532	32	29.2%
Calvados (14)	525	74	34.9%
Gard (30)	520	67	30.1%
Loiret (45)	519	75	31.1%
Morbihan (56)	515	66	40.6%
Ain (01)	497	73	29.6%
Charente-Maritime (17)	488	72	32.8%
Saône-et-Loire (71)	471	86	35.5%
Vaucluse (84)	465	81	34.4%
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64)	449	64	36.8%
Puy-de-Dôme (63)	444	67	31.7%
Côtes-d'Armor (22)	441	72	39.4%
Meurthe-et-Moselle (54)	440	60	32.1%
Marne (51)	436	77	33.0%
Drôme (26)	435	83	34.7%
Eure (27)	419	70	32.0%
Indre-et-Loire (37)	411	66	28.3%
Doubs (25)	404	74	37.3%
Manche (50)	390	78	38.6%
Côte-d'Or (21)	385	71	33.9%
Sarthe (72)	373	66	36.0%
Pyrénées-Orientales (66)	367	74	27.7%
Vienne (86)	343	78	27.2%
Eure-et-Loir (28)	328	76	35.1%
Vosges (88)	320	90	29.9%
Tarn (81)	312	78	31.5%
Dordogne (24)	308	74	33.9%
Aveyron (12)	303	108	32.9%
Landes (40)	302	70	37.3%
Somme (80)	297	52	35.0%
Savoie (73)	295	66	41.3%
Aisne (02)	293	56	41.2%
Lot-et-Garonne (47)	289	87	40.7%
Deux-Sèvres (79)	286	76	33.4%
Charente (16)	276	78	30.8%
Aude (11)	265	70	32.2%
Department unknown	260	—	1.9%
Yonne (89)	254	76	36.6%
Haute-Vienne (87)	250	67	31.5%
Loir-et-Cher (41)	249	76	31.6%
Allier (03)	237	71	33.7%
Mayenne (53)	236	77	38.6%
Aube (10)	228	73	34.2%
Tarn-et-Garonne (82)	220	83	28.2%
Orne (61)	217	79	49.3%
Corrèze (19)	214	89	37.1%
Jura (39)	204	79	36.2%
Cher (18)	203	68	33.2%
Ardèche (07)	187	56	36.6%
Ardennes (08)	184	69	24.9%
Haute-Loire (43)	179	78	38.7%
Gers (32)	172	89	32.1%
Haute-Saône (70)	160	69	36.9%
Indre (36)	160	74	33.4%
Haute-Marne (52)	158	94	40.6%
Hautes-Pyrénées (65)	149	64	38.2%
Nièvre (58)	142	70	41.1%
Lot (46)	121	68	35.1%
Ariège (09)	120	77	36.1%
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04)	117	69	42.9%
Cantal (15)	116	80	41.3%
Hautes-Alpes (05)	115	80	47.0%
Haute-Corse (2B)	114	61	40.2%
Meuse (55)	112	62	30.1%
Territoire de Belfort (90)	99	71	39.0%
Corse-du-Sud (2A)	93	55	39.5%
Creuse (23)	68	59	45.5%
Lozère (48)	63	82	39.8%

Nord has 1,509, Bouches-du-Rhône 1,304, Rhône 1,219. The share within manufacturer networks varies. Île-de-France has the lowest share: 24.0% of its sales locations. Bretagne has 38.0%, Corsica 39.8%.

In practice: a sales route covers many dealers in rural departments, but each one often lists only a few vehicles. In Île-de-France, more sales locations are unaffiliated with a car brand, so there are more decision-makers to win over individually.

Chains, franchises, buying groups, independents: who decides?#

For a supplier, the market splits into three blocks: manufacturer networks, chains and buying groups outside those networks, and independents. Here, an independent is a sales location outside manufacturer networks that displays the storefront name of no chain, no buying group and no franchise, and belongs to no group in the register.

The bounds go in pairs: 2,200 chain locations go with 28,000 independents, 4,800 with 25,400 (13,347 + 4,718 + 25,436 = 43,501).

The chains outside manufacturer networks are named in Level 5: multi-brand repair shop networks (AD, Eurorepar Car Service, Motrio), dealer associations (Vroomiz, Distinxion), a franchise (Simplicicar), company-owned branches (Aramisauto) and dealer groups (Autosphere, Bymycar). Their exact weight has yet to be measured: one location can display two storefront names, and the share of proven sales varies from one chain to another. Hence a range, calculated in the method section. At the low end, independents account for 84% of the 30,154 locations outside manufacturer networks.

A secondary detail: outside manufacturer networks, 14.7% of sales locations linked to the register share their company with another establishment.

The market is highly fragmented. The top 10 operators hold only 913 sales locations, 2.1% of the market, and networks of several locations often remain regional: 75.8% operate within a single region.

Chart data

Structure	Sales locations
Manufacturer networks	13,347
Chains, buying groups, franchises and dealer groups outside manufacturer networks, upper bound	4,718
Independents outside any chain, lower bound	25,436
Total	43,501

Here are the top ten operators, with the sales locations they run or bring together. An operator's location count may differ from the count under its storefront name: it may include locations without that name or exclude members linked to another company.

Groups account for a larger share of sales than of sales locations. According to Le Journal de l'Automobile, the top 10 automotive retail groups sold 396,624 used cars in 2025: Autosphere 89,072, BYmyCAR 50,679, Gueudet 1880 45,817.

The register gives a second, narrower view: it counts only verified relationships in which one company controls another. It links 2,117 sales locations (4.9%) to 1,043 parent companies. A total of 270 groups have 2 sales locations or more, and 31 have 10 or more (707 sales locations). Two in three of their locations (67.1%) are within manufacturer networks. A blank field does not prove the absence of a group.

The top ten parent companies in the register

Parent company in the register	Sales locations	Within manufacturer networks
VOLKSWAGEN GROUP RETAIL FRANCE	52	50
FINALAIN	50	44
ECL	46	43
BODEMER	40	39
CAR AVENUE FRANCE	33	31
GUEUDET FRERES	30	24
D.M.D.	29	26
RCM	28	27
ROBERT ROUSSEAU AUTOMOBILE	26	24
ARAMIS GROUP	25	0

The car brand on the storefront does not tell you who decides. A brand's dealerships belong to private groups that often hold several: at Peugeot, 370 dealerships are owned by 63 investors, according to L'argus (January 2026). Each group buys for its own locations.

At an independent, the manager decides alone. A repair shop under the AD name or a dealer that belongs to Vroomiz also decides for its own location, but its storefront name lets you find it and sort it with the other members: it is not counted among the independents. Nor is a group of 10 used car dealers.

In practice: selling to a group differs from selling to an independent. With a group, you sell to a head office for several locations, with a longer decision cycle. With an independent, you sell by phone to a manager, one sales location at a time. Because 58 to 64% of sales locations are independent, this second sales model is the most common.

Specialties and submarkets#

Some sales locations advertise a specialty. A location can have several.

In all, 9 in 10 sales locations advertise no specialty. These numbers are therefore minimums: they count what each sales location highlights.

Three niches emerge for those selling to dealers: motorhomes and recreational vehicles (897 sales locations), with a distinct audience and insurance needs; license-free microcars (431), sold by networks of dealers under contract; light commercial vehicles (1,108), serving tradespeople and small businesses.

In practice: a narrowly defined offer can quickly find its audience. Motorhome financing, warranties for light commercial vehicles or transport for license-free microcars each target a few hundred sales locations that are easy to identify.

Openings, closures, insolvencies: a market with high turnover#

The Sirene register dates every opening and every closure. From October 2025 to September 2026, 22,481 establishments opened under code 45.11Z and 18,230 closed. A year earlier: 21,089 openings and 18,964 closures. The register also records a closure when a business is taken over under a new number.

Insolvency proceedings are increasing. From October 30, 2025 to October 29, 2026, the Bodacc published orders opening insolvency proceedings for 1,259 vehicle sales companies, compared with 1,187 a year earlier. A company can be subject to several rulings: there were 1,267 over the year, three quarters of them liquidation orders (946).

Of the sales locations we track, 2,293 closed between late October 2025 and early November 2026, according to the register, the Bodacc or their public business listing, and another 224 are reported closed with no published date.

Two worlds sit side by side. A typical location within manufacturer networks is 16 years old, based on its establishment's creation date in the register. A location outside those networks is under 6, and nearly 1 in 3 (32.0%) is under 3 years old.

In practice: a used car dealer prospect list becomes outdated quickly. In one year, 2,293 of the tracked sales locations closed, and the register recorded 22,481 openings under code 45.11Z.

How do you reach used car dealers?#

The phone is still a reliable way to reach dealers. A total of 88.2% of sales locations list a phone number: 97.7% within manufacturer networks and 83.9% outside them. A cell phone number is published for 40.7%.

Email addresses and websites are missing more often:

• 36.6% of sales locations have an email address (60.4% within manufacturer networks, 26.1% outside them);
• 34.7% have their own website (53.7% within manufacturer networks, 26.3% outside them).

These are the contact details published for the sales location itself.

In practice: to prospect used car dealers, a call reaches almost everyone, while email reaches 1 in 3. Outside manufacturer networks, email reaches only about 1 sales location in 4. Plan an initial contact by phone or a visit.

Which NAF or APE code applies to a used car dealer?#

The main NAF code (the French activity classification code, also called APE code) is 45.11Z: trade in cars and light motor vehicles. Code 45.19Z covers other vehicles. Code 45.20A covers maintenance and repair of light vehicles, meaning auto repair shops.

"NAF" is the classification. "APE" is the activity code assigned to a company or an establishment. In practice, they refer to the same code.

Fewer than half of dealers declare the car trade code: the breakdown by code is at level 1.

In practice: for a prospect list, the activity code helps you find the company and filter records. It is not enough to define the market.

How can you use these figures for market research?#

Size an addressable market#

Subtract from 44,400 the locations your offer cannot serve. An offer for used car dealers and repair shops targets the 30,200 locations outside manufacturer networks; an offer for dealerships and brand agents targets the 13,300 within the networks; an offer for major accounts targets the 1,446 locations listing 100 vehicles or more.

Segment the market#

Combine channel, business type, storefront name and size (inventory, employees, revenue). A repair shop outside manufacturer networks listing 4 cars and a group dealership listing 200 do not buy the same product or pay the same price.

Plan by territory#

A territory with 100,000 inhabitants has 63 sales locations on average, up to 108 in Aveyron. The department table gives the count for your area; the market size calculator calculates it within a radius.

Track a changing market#

In one year, 22,481 establishments opened and 18,230 closed in the register under code 45.11Z. Update your market count for every campaign.

How do you build a used car dealer prospect list?#

1. Start with sales locations, not the register. A row should represent a place that sells cars, with its address.
2. Add repair shops. They sell used cars under a repair code.
3. Separate manufacturer networks from the rest. Within manufacturer networks, the group often makes the decision; elsewhere, the manager does.
4. Check that a location actually sells cars. Search its name on two listing sites: a current listing under its name is our first piece of evidence. For a dealership, the manufacturer's or used car label's locator is enough.
5. Plan to use the phone. It is the channel that reaches the most sales locations.

Further reading: the market size calculator and the number of auto repair shops in France page.

Frequently asked questions#

How many car dealerships are there in France?#

Scalon counts 13,300 manufacturer-network locations in mainland France and Corsica, including 5,903 dealerships, 998 brand agents, 6,337 "dealership or brand agent" locations and 109 locations under a manufacturer's used car label classified as used car dealers. labaseauto.com counts 10,942 on October 23, 2026 (4,402 dealerships and 6,540 brand agents). In 2024, Mobilians and TCG Conseil estimated about 4,000 dealerships, excluding brand agents; the CCFA counted 16,170 manufacturer-network sales locations on January 1, 2025, with an address counted once per brand.

How many used car traders are there in France?#

Scalon counts about 13,100 used car dealers and traders outside manufacturer networks in mainland France and Corsica: 2,628 established by reading their pages, the rest through their public categories or activity code. Another 3,728 sales locations outside the networks remain unclassified. In 2020, the ANFA counted about 28,000 companies with no employees and a vehicle trading activity.

How many used car dealers are independent?#

In mainland France and Corsica, between 25,400 and 28,000 sales locations, or 58 to 64% of the total, belong to no manufacturer, chain, buying group, franchise or group. The others belong to a brand (13,300) or operate under a storefront name outside manufacturer networks (2,200 to 4,800), such as the Vroomiz dealer association or the Simplicicar franchise.

Which APE code applies to a used car dealer?#

The main code is 45.11Z. It is declared by 42.3% of estimated sales locations. Repair shops use 45.20A (22.4%). Other vehicles fall under 45.19Z (2.0%).

Can an auto repair shop sell used cars?#

Yes. Outside manufacturer networks, about 13,200 repair shops sell used cars, often a few at a time; across all channels, 9,700 sales locations are registered under repair (45.20A). They are missing from a prospect list based solely on the vehicle sales activity code.

Why do the figures differ from one publication to another?#

Each counts a different unit: the company, the employer establishment, the car brand distributed or the place. The "What other sources say, with the numbers" table puts them side by side.

Are car brokers counted?#

No. A broker buys on behalf of its client and has no inventory under its own name. It is outside the total of 44,400.

Which regions have the most dealers?#

Île-de-France has an estimated 5,881 sales locations, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 5,822, Occitanie 4,419. Relative to population, Aveyron leads with 108 sales locations per 100,000 inhabitants.

How much revenue does a used car dealer generate?#

Among the 4,271 companies that publish their accounts, mostly the larger ones, half exceed €5.0 million. A company with a single sales location typically generates €2.2 million. By channel, the typical company generates €15.7 million within manufacturer networks and €1.0 million outside them. This amount covers the company's entire activity, not used cars alone.

Method#

The total comes from Scalon's graph, which brings together each establishment's Sirene register entries, public business listings, professional directory entries and vehicle listings. Data accessed from October 28 to November 2, 2026; listings and public dealer pages collected from October 26 to 29, 2026; Sirene register and Bodacc read on November 2, 2026; figures rechecked on November 6, 2026.

Scope: professional sales locations that sell used cars, light commercial vehicles or motorhomes on their own behalf; brokers, rental companies and businesses selling only two-wheeled vehicles are excluded.

We count a sales location if its used car sales are proven, or if they are probable because it is an automotive business for which we collected no listing. To find out how many probable sellers actually sell, Scalon checked 389 sales locations on the web. Scalon classifies channel and business type: first by reading the pages, then through public evidence and business listing categories, and finally through the activity code; a location with none of these signals remains "unclassified." Two independent reviewers rechecked 100 randomly drawn locations.

Storefront names are linked through public evidence. For example, Spoticar's website says: "SPOTICAR is the label dedicated to used vehicles from Stellantis group brands." Eurorepar describes itself as "the network of local auto repair shops… whatever the make." Simplicicar describes itself as "a national automotive franchise network made up of local agencies operating as independent franchisees."

Market terminology

Term	Definition
Sales location	A place open to the public, with its own address, where people buy used cars. This is the unit counted in this article.
Dealership	A sales location that distributes one or more brands under contract with the manufacturer. It sells new vehicles and takes used ones in trade.
Brand agent	A repair shop tied to a dealership. It sells for the dealership and services vehicles.
Used car trader or dealer	It buys vehicles on its own account and resells them, without a brand contract.
Repair shop that sells cars	An auto repair shop that also resells a few cars. It is often registered under repair.
Car broker	It buys on behalf of its client and has no inventory under its own name. It is outside the count.
Manufacturer's used car label	A commercial name created by a manufacturer for its used cars (Spoticar, Renew). It brings dealerships together.
Multi-brand repair shop network	A shared brand for repair shops that service vehicles of any make (Eurorepar Car Service, AD). Each member still owns its repair shop.
Dealer association	A storefront name that brings together used car dealers who still own their business (Vroomiz). The member decides.
Distribution group	A company that operates many sales locations under its management.
Manufacturer network	The channel of dealerships and brand agents linked to a manufacturer.
Outside manufacturer networks	The channel of sales locations with no established link to a manufacturer.
Independent	A sales location outside manufacturer networks that displays the storefront name of no chain, buying group or franchise, and belongs to no group. It may share its company with another establishment.
Proven sales	A current listing under the sales location's name, or an established place in a manufacturer's network.
Probable sales	An automotive seller with no listings captured in our data. Used car sales are likely, without published proof.

Method details and limits

The work starts from all the sales locations in mainland France and Corsica that the graph links to the used vehicle market: vehicle listings, manufacturer networks and labels, dealership directories, public business listings and the register. A sales location brings together the records describing the same place. An establishment seen only in the register, without a public business listing, website or vehicle listing, is outside the count.

Used car sales are proven when at least one used vehicle listing is collected under the sales location's name (car, light commercial vehicle or motorhome, sold by a professional, with over 100 km on the odometer, not listed as new), when a manufacturer's network declares a sales activity for it, or when its public pages establish that it is a dealership or brand agent (Scalon's classification). They are probable for an automotive seller with no collected listing. As of November 2, 2026: 25,586 open sales locations with proven sales, 26,478 with probable sales, excluding closed locations.

Scalon checked 389 randomly drawn sales locations, each time looking for proof on the web (the seller's pages, listings, register, Bodacc), using Anthropic's Claude models. Of the 224 with proven sales, 216 do sell used cars and are open (96%). Of the 165 with probable sales, 64 sell, 26 do not and 75 left no proof either way. The estimate weights the first group at 96% (± 3 percentage points) and the second at 71% (± 10 percentage points, based on 64 of 90 locations; this share is too uncertain to publish on its own), the share of sellers among those whose status could be determined: 24,672 and 18,829, or 43,501 in mainland France and Corsica. Adding the 95% confidence intervals for both shares puts the total between about 40,000 and 46,200 in mainland France and Corsica, and between 40,900 and 47,100 in France.

Segment denominator: all breakdowns in this article (channel, business type, activity code, regions, specialties, operators, storefront names, car brands, headcounts, contacts) cover the 43,501 sales locations in mainland France and Corsica. Each identified location is weighted at 96% if sales are proven and 71% if they are probable. Network size is measured in identified locations (two identified locations form a network); the numbers of operators (45,004), networks (1,933) and companies are counted without weighting. Inventory is based on collected listings, revenue on companies that publish their accounts.

We also read the website home pages of 60 randomly drawn sales locations with probable sales and 40 with proven sales, using the Claude Haiku 5.5 model (Anthropic). Of the 53 websites reviewed for probable sellers, 31 show used cars for sale, 13 do not and 9 are inconclusive. 31 of the 44 websites that give a clear answer show used cars; the sample does not provide enough certainty to confirm the earlier rate on its own. Among proven sellers, 34 of the 35 websites that give a clear answer show used cars. Scalon reviewed 20 of them again and got the same answer all 20 times.

Scenarios: if none of the unresolved locations in the probable-sales group sell used cars, the total falls to about 35,700; if they all do, it rises to about 48,000. A sales location missing from all our sources is not counted; two records of the same place that the graph did not merge are counted twice. In the same samples, 9 probable sales locations out of 165 were in fact closed. The 141 Auto1 car-buying locations (vendezvotrevoiture.fr) are included in the count even though customers cannot buy a car there: they account for about 100 locations in the total (0.2%). Sales locations classified as outside used car sales (12,750, including closed locations) are not recounted: those that sell used cars anyway are missing from the total. The collection also includes a few heavy-truck dealerships: 628 of the 21,534 proven sellers whose registered activity is known (3%) are registered under trade in other vehicles (45.19Z).

The French overseas territories are not covered by this collection: 1,823 establishments are open there under code 45.11Z, counted by convention at the same ratio as in mainland France (43,501 sales locations for 85,522 establishments open under that code), which gives 927.

Channel and business type: a sales location is first classified by reading its public pages (dealership, brand agent, used car dealer, repair shop that sells cars), when certainty reaches 90%. If no business type is established this way, written rules apply in order. It enters manufacturer networks if it has a record in a manufacturer's locator (Stellantis, Renault-Dacia, Volkswagen, Ford, Toyota) or the Spoticar label's locator, a "dealership" or "brand agent" type published on a listing site, a business listing category identifying it as a dealership for a brand ("Peugeot dealership"), published text naming a brand contract ("authorized Nissan dealer", "Toyota brand agent"), or a brand name with text identifying it as a dealership. Outside manufacturer networks, a repair shop category, or a listing in a repair shop network or platform, makes it a repair shop that sells used cars; a sales-only category makes it a used car dealer; otherwise the activity code decides (trade: used car dealer; repair: repair shop); with no signal, it remains "unclassified." Outside manufacturer networks means that no link to a manufacturer is established.

Online check of manufacturer-network links: 100 locations randomly drawn from the 3,658 locations that the first version of these rules placed within manufacturer networks were checked by two independent reviewers, who each time opened the location's website or another public page; their readings agree for 96 out of 100, and Scalon resolved the other 4. Two rules came out of it: categories from the trade association directory no longer suffice (6 confirmed out of 12), and a contract for trucks, motorcycles or garden machinery is not a manufacturer network. With the corrected rules, 87 of these 100 locations remain within the networks: 70 are confirmed, 5 contradicted (a parts platform, a research center, a motorcycle dealership, an intermediary, a garden machinery distributor) and 12 remain undecidable, meaning 93% are true manufacturer-network locations among those that could be decided (70 of 75). Counting them at that rate would remove about 200 locations from the networks (1.6%); conversely, 6 of the 13 locations that the correction moved outside the networks were true manufacturer-network locations.

Double review: two independent reviewers rechecked 100 sales locations randomly drawn from the 52,064 identified locations, each without access to the other's conclusions, covering used car sales, channel, business type and storefront name. Each reviewer assigns one of four statuses: supported, defensible alternative, definite error (a piece of evidence makes the classification impossible), unresolved. The two reviews agree for 94 locations out of 100 on sales, 97 on channel, 97 on business type and 95 on storefront name; Scalon resolved disagreements by applying the rule to similar cases. No sales classification is contradicted; 35 remain unresolved, probable locations with no listing, weighted at 71%. Definite errors: 6 on channel, 7 on business type, 8 on storefront name. These led to corrections to the rules (texts naming a brand contract, listings from repair shop networks), which were reapplied to all locations; a second draw of 100 other locations, reviewed in the same way, gives 1 definite error on sales, 1 on channel, 4 on business type and 8 on storefront name (agreement between the two reviews: 91, 100, 99 and 98 out of 100). The definite error rate is therefore below 5.5% for channel and below 10% for business type, at 95% confidence. Storefront names remain a minimum: networks smaller than the 29 we track (Bye Buy Car, Staff Auto) and some displayed group names are missing.

Storefront names and chain types: each storefront name with 8 sales locations or more is assigned a type based on public evidence (its own page, a press release, a franchise directory). The cited pages are in the sources. For Aramisauto, the evidence is in our data: 97% of its locations are under the same company, whose parent company is Aramis Group; no franchise page exists. When there is no clear answer, the type remains "not established."

Operators: Scalon's shared tool gives each identified sales location a single grouping key, without linking locations through a chain of different keys: its website's domain if shared and verified, a used car sales storefront name, otherwise its email domain, a group verified in the register, otherwise its SIREN number (the French company ID). Manufacturer websites, listing sites, software vendors, webmail providers and directories are excluded. Labels and repair shop networks do not merge their members into a single operator: these are storefront names, not owners. These keys measure concentration (top ten operators, regional networks), not independence in the commercial sense. By company: outside manufacturer networks, 85.3% of sales locations linked to the register belong to a company with a single establishment; within manufacturer networks, 56.3%.

Market structure (calculation of November 9, 2026): the location-by-location cross-check of channel, all storefront names and groups has not yet been rerun; the number of independents is therefore bounded from the published totals. The 29 chains with 8 locations or more bring together at most 3,666 identified locations outside manufacturer networks, and at least 3,100 once possible double counts are removed; the other 72 storefront names have at most 504; locations outside manufacturer networks linked to a group in the register weigh about 700 estimated locations. Counted at 96% at most and 71% at least, chains, buying groups, franchises and dealer groups outside manufacturer networks make up between 2,204 and 4,718 estimated locations, and independents between 25,436 and 27,950, out of 30,154 outside manufacturer networks. These bounds cover the 101 storefront names and the groups identified: a location that does not display its storefront name, or whose group is not proven in the register, counts as independent, so the real number may be lower.

Revenue: the base brings together the SIREN numbers of identified sales locations whose establishment is classified under 45.1 or 45.2, excluding 33 manufacturers, importers, rental companies and finance companies removed manually, with a fiscal year ended in 2024 or later and nonzero revenue. It covers 4,271 companies out of 33,802 SIREN numbers (1 in 8), with combined revenue of €95.2 billion. The median is €5.02M; within manufacturer networks €15.7M (2,761 companies), outside them €0.97M (1,510 companies). By number of sales locations per company: median of €2.2M for 1 location, €34.2M for 2 to 9 locations, €149M for 10 locations or more. Small companies publish their accounts less often; the figure covers the whole company, not used cars alone.

Specialties: what the sales location advertises. A location can have several, and an estimated 39,388 locations (90.5%) advertise none. The numbers are therefore minimums.

Contacts: phone, cell phone, email and website are those published for the sales location itself, weighted like the other breakdowns.

Inventory counts used vehicles for sale under a sales location's name from October 26 to 29, 2026, with a vehicle listed on several listing sites counted once (same make, same model, same mileage, same year). A listing account serving several sales locations of a group is assigned to just one of them: the largest lists 31,286. Average age and mileage are weighted by the number of vehicles; the share of vehicles under 2 years old with under 60,000 km covers the 662,122 vehicles whose first registration date allows us to determine this.

The Sirene register is read as of November 2, 2026 under the current activity code 45.11Z: 95,604 open establishments, including 85,522 in mainland France, 1,823 in the French overseas territories and 8,259 with no published postal code. Openings are establishments' creation dates, closures the dates published by Insee, through September 30, 2026. Insolvency proceedings are the opening judgments published in the Bodacc for companies whose head office is classified under 45.11Z. The commands that reproduce each figure are kept with the article.

Key takeaways#

France has about 44,400 used car sales locations. In mainland France and Corsica, 13,300 are within manufacturer networks and 30,200 outside them, including thousands of repair shops missing from the car trade code. The register lists twice as many and overlaps only partly with the actual market. To sell to these businesses, start with sales locations and separate three blocks: manufacturer networks, where the group often decides; chains, buying groups and franchises outside those networks; and 25,400 to 28,000 independents, where the manager decides. Then call: 88.2% of sales locations list a phone number.

Cite this study#

The full citation, with the counts

Scalon Observatory, "Number of Used Car Dealers in France: 44,400 in 2026," November 2, 2026, updated on November 9, 2026: about 44,400 used car sales locations in France (estimate), including, in mainland France and Corsica, 13,300 within manufacturer networks and 30,200 outside them, of which 25,400 to 28,000 are independent (storefront names and groups identified); 4,271 companies publish their accounts (€95.2 billion); 675,820 used vehicles (cars, light commercial vehicles and motorhomes) for sale at 20,116 sales locations from October 26 to 29, 2026; 95,604 establishments open under code 45.11Z in the Sirene register. https://scalon.fr/en/observatory/number-of-used-car-dealers-in-france

Sources#

• Nombre d'établissements employeurs et effectifs salariés du secteur privé, France entière x APE, Urssaf (data as of December 31, 2025)
• Nomenclature NAF rév. 2, sous-classe 45.11Z, Insee (page updated on December 19, 2025)
• Commerce de véhicules automobiles, Ésane, 2023 data, Insee (September 18, 2025)
• Autofocus n° 101, Le reconditionnement de véhicules d'occasion, ANFA (April 24, 2023)
• L'industrie automobile française 2025, CCFA (May 28, 2026)
• Concessionnaires et agents par marque, labaseauto.com (October 23, 2026)
• Immatriculations de voitures en 2025 : le marché du neuf baisse, celui de l'occasion résiste, SDES, February 11, 2026
• Les concessionnaires se sont approchés de l'équilibre en 2025, Le Journal de l'Automobile, August 26, 2026
• Top 100 : le podium 2025 sur le marché du véhicule d'occasion, Le Journal de l'Automobile, September 2, 2026
• Top 100 des groupes selon le nombre de véhicules d'occasion vendus en 2025, table, Le Journal de l'Automobile
• Les 100 premiers groupes de distribution français selon le chiffre d'affaires en 2025, Le Journal de l'Automobile (July 2026)
• Peugeot : les chiffres clés du réseau de distribution en France en 2026, L'argus, April 28, 2026
• Distribution automobile. État des lieux des réseaux de marques en France en 2026, L'argus, April 14, 2026
• Le nombre de concessions automobiles devrait diminuer d'ici à 2030, Auto Infos, September 26, 2024 (Mobilians and TCG Conseil study)
• Spoticar, foire aux questions
• Eurorepar Car Service, notre enseigne
• Vroomiz, nos partenaires
• Simplicicar, agence franchisée
• Emil Frey France, le groupe
• Sirene register (Insee), Bodacc, public business listings, professional directories, vehicle listings and public dealer pages: accessed in Scalon's graph from October 26 to November 2, 2026.