Renault and Dacia car brands set half-year sales records, French Group Renault announced on Monday, according to a press release. The group sold 1,879,288 vehicles, the Renault brand 1,342,320 vehicles and the Dacia brand 332,845 vehicles.
The Dacia brand posted a first-half-year sales record in Europe with 245,453 vehicle registrations (up 9.3 percent) and a 2.6 percent share of the market. These results were driven by the performance of Sandero phase 2, launched in late 2016, and Duster.
In Europe, group registrations continued to grow faster than the market. They increased 5.6 percent in a market up 4.4 percent to a total 1,025,146 in the first half of the year. The Group took a 10.8 percent share of the European market, up 0.1 points.
“We set a new record with sales of over 1.88 million vehicles in a six-month period. Our sales volumes and market share increased for all our brands and in all Regions. Our strategy of range renewal and geographical expansion continues to produce results”, said Thierry Koskas, member of the Executive Committee and Group Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing.
In France, the Renault brand achieved its best half-year performance in passenger cars in six years. Twingo, Clio, Talisman and Espace all led their respective segments.
Dacia topped its sales record with Sandero, the leader in the market of passenger car sales to retail customers, the release shows.
ZOE remains the clear leader in the electric vehicle market, accounting for almost 70 percent of electric passenger car sales in France with over 9,200 registrations – a year-on-year increase of over 42 percent.
Outside Europe, all the regions increased their sales volumes and market share. Group registrations rose 16.8 percent in a market that grew 3.4 percent.
For this year, French group Renault forecasts that the global market should see growth of around 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent. The European market is still expected to grow 2 percent over the period. The French market is expected to expand by 2 percent.
“In the second half of the year, the Group will continue to take full advantage in Europe of its renewed range and internationally of the momentum of Koleos in China, Kaptur, Xray and Vesta in Russia, QM6 and SM6 in South Korea, and the new SUV range in Latin America,” the release reads.