PARIS -- Renault Group sales rose 13 percent worldwide in the first half, and 24 percent in Europe, where Renault was the second-ranked brand after Volkswagen.
Renault outperformed the European market, which grew by 19 percent in the first half.
In line with group CEO Luca de Meo’s push into the higher-margin compact segment from small cars, Renault brand’s European compact sales increased by 42 percent over the first half of 2022.
Most of that growth came from the new Austral SUV, which sold nearly 40,000 units, compared with its predecessor, the Kadjar, which recorded 15,000 sales in the first half of 2022.
Looking ahead, Renault is launching three more compact or midsize cars in the next year: the Espace midsize SUV, the Rafale midsize coupe crossover and the Scenic compact full-electric SUV.
Group sales for the first half were 1,133,667; Renault brand sales were up 12 percent to 772,000, of which 503,242 were in Europe, a 21 percent increase. Dacia sales rose by 24 percent; the Alpine sports car brand grew by 9 percent to 1,800, although it has just one model, the A110.
In France, the group’s largest market, Renault gained 0.8 percentage points to a 26 percent share. Market share also rose in the No. 2 market, Italy, where the group had a 10.4 percent share. In Spain, the fourth-ranked market, Renault’s share was up 1.7 percentage points to 11.9 percent.
The group’s best-selling model was the small Dacia Sandero, with 157,711 sales; it was followed by the small Renault Clio, with 142,916 sales – more than 40 percent over last year’s figure – and the Dacia Duster (badged as Renault in some markets), at 137,643.
Among European full-electric models, sales for the decade-old Zoe fell to just 9,815 from 22,284 in 2022 as that model is phased out ahead of the launch of the Renault 5. Sales of the Twingo Z.E. minicar, another model nearing the end its life cycle, fell to 7,871 from 14,896.
Sales of light-commercial vehicles increased globally by 21 percent to 189,010. Passenger-car sales were up 12 percent.
