Renault and Opel/Vauxhall will step up their efforts this year to replace Ford as Europe's No. 2 brand by vehicle sales. Ford fought off both rivals last year and industry watchers expect the automaker to finish 2015 in second place again. Renault, however, will replace Opel in the No. 3 spot, analysts at IHS Automotive predict.
Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said last month that he expects growth in Europe next year as governments introduce incentives to underpin the region’s economy. Arndt Ellinghorst, a London-based analyst at Evercore ISI, said Renault is launching more new high-volume cars than any other major mass-market European automaker, and the average age of the French brand’s fleet will decline to 35 months in 2015 and 2016 from 39 months in 2014.
“Renault has done a good job in a tough market,” Elllinghorst said in an investors’ note. “They’ve managed to increase sales overall without giving up on pricing, which is what investors are looking at. [This year] has to be better than 2014.”