Paris (AFP)
The French automotive group Renault saw its global sales drop by 3.4% in 2019, slightly less than the market, to 3.75 million vehicles, limiting the damage thanks to the success of its "low-cost" range.
For the first year without its ousted boss Carlos Ghosn, the diamond brand fell by 6.9%, but the manufacturer benefited from the good health of its Romanian label Dacia (+ 5.1%) in Europe and growth de Lada in Russia (+ 3.6%), according to a press release issued on Friday.
In a difficult automobile market, affected by geopolitical instability and commercial conflicts, Renault was pleased to have been able to maintain its world market share, by declining slightly less than the competition on average.
The group widened the gap with its French rival PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, Vauxhall) which released Thursday sales down 10% to 3.49 million units, while the two manufacturers were shoulder to shoulder last year.
In its main market, Europe, Renault increased overall by 1.3%, 0.1 points more than the average. But the diamond brand, on its own, confirmed its difficulties by losing 0.4 point of market share.
The European record was saved by Dacia (+ 10.4%), which sets a new sales record in this region, for the seventh consecutive year, with more than 560,000 cars sold, thanks to the success of the city car Sandero and the 4x4 Urban Duster.
In Russia, its second national market behind France, Renault and its subsidiary Lada have managed to progress in a declining market, consolidating their leading position with nearly 509,000 vehicles.
In Brazil (+ 11.3%), Renault reached a record market share of 9%. In India, the French brand was the only one to progress (+ 7.9%) in a market down 11.3%.
But China, the world's largest automotive market, remains an important black spot. Renault sold only 22,000 cars there last year. Adding the volumes of its joint venture with local builder Jinbei & Huasong, the group claims nearly 180,000 sales, a figure that remains extremely low.
© 2020 AFP