The lack of material makes Renault difficult.

The car company based in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris estimates the resulting loss of production at 170,000 vehicles for the past summer quarter alone.

Overall, due to a lack of semiconductors and other components, about half a million fewer cars will roll off the assembly line this year, Renault announced on Friday.

Niklas Záboji

Business correspondent in Paris

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That would be significantly more than the minus of 200,000 forecast in July.

The group does not announce precise production targets.

But he makes no secret of the fact that the losses are harsh.

A comparison with the same period last year shows that: Renault produced around 600,000 cars in July, August and September of this year.

That is 22.3 percent less than in July, August and September of the previous year.

The losses in Europe are particularly great.

Renault generates a little more than half of its sales here.

While the production minus in Europe was around 26 percent, internationally it was "only" 17 percent down.

The supply situation is unlikely to improve quickly.

According to a company spokeswoman, they will drive with “reduced visibility” until the end of the year, and material procurement will remain “tense”.

Focus on the most profitable models

Renault's sales did not shrink quite as much as production, but they did so significantly.

At 9 billion euros, it was around 13 percent below the previous year's figure in the third quarter.

But material shortage or not, the group is sticking to its margin target.

This should remain in the same order of magnitude for the year as a whole as in the first half of the year.

Renault also continues to strive for positive operating free cash flow for its auto business.

The European CO2 targets are also believed to be able to be met.

For Renault, one answer to the material crisis is to focus on making the most profitable models, and another to make production even more efficient. "The measures to further reduce costs and maximize the value of our production allow us to confirm our forecast for the year despite the deterioration in component availability in the third quarter and reduced visibility for the fourth quarter," said Clotilde Delbos, CFO of Renault Group on Friday.

Investors had apparently already taken into account the weak production figures.

The Renault share listed in the French benchmark index CAC40 was only slightly in the red in early trading on Friday.

Since March, however, it has lost significantly in value by around 25 percent.

Nine out of 23 analysts polled by Bloomberg currently recommend buying Renault shares, ten advocating “hold”, and four recommend selling.