Renault sold more than 770,800 vehicles globally in the first half of 2023 – an 11% rise on the same period in 2022 – and most sales were in Europe, driven by a surge in demand for its most profitable C-segment vehicles.
These cars – which include the Renault Austral, Renault Arkana and Renault Mégane E-Tech – accounted for 136,195 sales, a rise of 42% on the year before.
Demand for the new Austral – which was only released in France at the end of last year and will arrive in the UK later this year from £34,695 – pushed this rise, with 39,495 sales in its first six months on sale in select markets. The sub-£30,000 Arkana was Renault’s C-segment best-seller, with 41,821 examples sold.
These cars also helped drive the brand’s 40% year-on-year rise (to 83,000) in hybrid sales. Hybrids accounted for 65% of all Austral sales and 55% of all Arkana sales.
Electric vehicles – Renault’s passenger car EV line-up comprises just the Renault Zoe E-Tech and Mégane E-Tech – also played a part in the brand’s sales increase. The Mégane, launched last year, hit more than 23,000 and accounted for nearly 50% of the brand’s total EV sales (48,000). It was the best-selling EV in its segment in France.
The French brand has also achieved success with its direct-to-customer retail sales, which accounted for 51% of the 770,807 vehicles (584,831 cars and 185,976 light commercial vehicles) sold. This is part of a push by the brand to create relationships with customers directly, rather than through dealers, in a bid to increase sales – although it is not as direct as a full-blown agency model change like other firms, such as JLR, are pursuing.
Of its global sales, 501,985 were made in Europe (a 21% increase on the year before). A rise in key markets, such as the UK (+61%), Netherlands (+58%), Spain (+47%) and Italy (+35%) accounted for a large share of this growth. France, with 198,954 sales (144,715 cars and 54,239 LCVs), remained its strongest market.
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