2:44 pm, July 12, 2022
Renault Group suffered a global sales drop of nearly 30 per cent during the first half of this year after withdrawing from Russia and because of the semiconductor crisis, it revealed today (Jul 12).
The manufacturer shifted 1,000,199 vehicles – down from 1,422,647 over the corresponding six months of 2021.
Discounting its Avtovaz interest and Renault Russia operation, sales were down by 12 per cent.
Renault sold its 67.7 per cent stake in Avtovaz, which is Russia’s largest carmaker, in May.
According to JPMorgan, Russia had been Renault’s second largest market until the Ukraine war, giving it 15 per cent of its earnings.
As reported by Car Dealer today, Renault’s Alpine brand enjoyed a near-71 per cent rise in sales to 1,170.
The UK was ranked ninth in the group’s top 15 markets, with preliminary figures showing it sold 32,817 vehicles here between January and June – a rise of 0.4 per cent.
Renault said its E-Tech range of EVs and hybrid powertrains accounted for 36 per cent of passenger car sales in Europe during the first half of 2022, versus 26 per cent in 2021.
Dacia registrations were up by 5.9 per cent to 277,885, which Renault said was driven in particular by the Sandero and Duster,
The French firm added that sales in the C-segment were up 12 per cent compared with the first half of 2021, particularly thanks to the Arkana, which has notched up more than 40,000 sales this year.
Renault said it expected things to keep on improving this year as regards semiconductor availability, which in turn will increase vehicle production.
