PARIS -- Renault Group's global sales fell by 4.5 percent in 2021 as semiconductor shortages affected the automaker's production, squeezing supplies of new vehicles to dealerships.
The group sold 2.69 million passenger cars and light-commercial vehicle last year, Renault said.
The automaker is focusing on more profitable models during the microchip crunch.
"The sales policy initiated in the third quarter of 2020, is leading to an increase in the share of sales in the most profitable channels," Renault said in a statement on Monday.
Renault brand commercial boss Fabrice Cambolive said he expected the Renault brand to increase in terms of net revenue per model in 2022.
Renault brand sales were down by 5.2 percent to 1.69 million last year; Dacia sales rose 3.1 percent to 537,095. Sales at Russian brand Lada were up 0.3 percent to 385,208.
Sports-car brand Alpine increased sales of its A110 sports coupe by 74 percent to 2,659. The group's Korean brand Renault-Samsung Motors sold 57,480 vehicles, a 36 percent drop.
The automaker's troubled Chinese joint venture with Jinbei-Brilliance sold 15,999 vehicles, a 41 percent decrease.
Renault, which along with its global peers is pushing into electric vehicles under CEO Luca de Meo, said it was pursuing a "value over volume" sales policy initiated in the third quarter of 2020, which is leading to an increase in the share of its sales in the most profitable channels.
Renault said that in its five main European countries -- France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK -- the share of sales to retail customers grew by six percentage points to 58 percent compared with 2019, before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among key figures:
- Electrification: Hybrids and full-electric vehicles accounted for 30 percent of Renault brand sales in Europe, compared with 17 percent in 2020, with 14 percent full electric. Hybrid sales for the brand's two best-selling models, the small Clio hatchback and small Captur SUV, were 19 percent and 24 percent, respectively.
- Renault Arkana: This compact SUV imported from South Korea tallied 42,000 sales and 60,000 orders since June, Renault said, of which 56 percent were for the hybrid version and 86 percent were for the two highest trim levels. Arkana sales were the main driver of Renault's higher net revenue per vehicle, de Meo said last week, even though the chip shortage has prioritized sales of more expensive models overall.
- Light-commercial vehicles: Renault brand van sales rose by 19 percent to 374,824, with the introduction of the new-generation Kangoo compact van, and the rebranding of the Dacia Dokker compact van as the Renault Express.
- International: Markets outside of Europe accounted for 44 percent of sales, an increase of two percentage points over 2020. The group had a 29 percent market share in Russia, its second-largest market outside of France; a 40 percent share in Morocco, its ninth-largest market (and where it has two factories); a 35 percent share in Romania, its 14th-biggest market and Dacia's home market; and a 21 percent share in Colombia, its 15th-biggest market.
Reuters contributed to this report
