by Gilles Guillaume

PARIS (Reuters) – Renault reported on Wednesday a 9% increase in its global sales volume in 2023, returning to growth after four consecutive years of decline, but the automaker remains faced with relentless competition in the electric with new price reductions from Tesla.

The announcement of the diamond group’s global sales comes even as the Californian group unveiled price cuts in Germany and France on its Model Y – already the best-selling electric car in 2023 in France, the national market from Renault.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, Renault shares fell 2.7% to 33.53 euros around 12:15 p.m., among the strongest declines in the CAC 40 (-1.28%). The Stoxx automobile index dropped 1.69%.

The 7% drop to 43,000 euros in the starting price of the Model Y in France “seems motivated by the desire to increase competition with new models arriving on the market, such as the Renault Scenic or the Peugeot 3008”, comments Oddo in a note.

Electrified models – hybrid and electric – represented nearly 40% of Renault brand sales in Europe in 2023, compared to 38% in 2022.

But on the electric market alone, at the heart of the Ampère project whose IPO is planned by the summer, the French car manufacturer saw its global sales drop by 1.6% to 163,852 vehicles, the performance of the Dacia Spring (+26.4%) is not enough to compensate for a decline in electric sales of the diamond brand, whose Zoé and Twingo are at the end of their career.

“In 2024 we will be able to complete our EV offering” with the Scenic and the R5, declared Fabrice Cambolive, general manager of the Renault brand, during a press conference call. “So we should improve this percentage in the months to come with the arrival of these new launches.”

All engines combined, the manufacturer will launch a total of no less than ten new models this year – seven Renaults, two Dacias and its first electric Alpine, the small A290.

THE MEGANE IN THE TOP 3

A forerunner with Nissan in electric vehicles over the previous decade, Renault has seen itself supplanted by specialized new entrants like Tesla or Chinese brands.

While the French manufacturer sold nearly 18,000 electric Méganes last year on its national market, the Californian group registered nearly 25,000 Model 3s and more than 37,000 Model Ys, while the MG brand of Chinese SAIC sold 20,000 MG4 in France.

For its first full year of sales, however, the Mégane placed itself in the top 3 of its category in Europe with 47,504 sales, added Renault.

Renault marketed a total of 2.23 million vehicles – cars and vans – across the world last year, returning to growth after several years penalized by strategic repositioning, the exit from the Russian market and semiconductor shortages.

Sales of the eponymous brand, which represents more than two thirds of the group’s sales, increased by 9.4% and those of the “low cost” brand Dacia (a third of total sales) increased by 14.7%. The group’s high-end sports brand, Alpine, sold 4,328 Berlinettes (+22.1%).

The French car manufacturer had again recorded a decline of 5.9% in its volumes in 2022 while it had established a sales record of 3.88 million vehicles in 2018.

Financially shaken at the time by the downturn in several of its markets, Renault then turned its back on its global sales ambitions by reducing its range and refocusing, under the leadership of Luca de Meo, on its geographies and models. the most profitable.

“(Our) commercial policy remains focused on value, which is not contradictory with gaining market share,” continued Fabrice Cambolive.

The group, which will publish its annual financial results on February 15, is targeting an operating margin of between 7% and 8%, compared to less than 6% in 2022.

“The European automobile market is expected to be stable this year (like Latin America), which should increase competitive pressure, but Renault should be able to outperform thanks to the numerous launches planned this year,” adds Michael Foundoukidis, analyst, in a note. at Oddo BHF.

The group forecasts stability in the automobile market in Europe and Latin America in 2024 and a decline of 11% in Eurasia.

Regarding supply disruptions caused by changes in maritime transport routes due to attacks in the Red Sea on the sidelines of the war in Gaza, Renault says it has sufficient visibility at this stage.

“We have visibility over the next eight weeks, after that we don’t know what could happen,” replied Fabrice Cambolive. “A priori we will not be impacted in the coming weeks by this supply crisis.”

Dacia’s sales director, Xavier Martinet, also declared during a teleconference that he did not anticipate any impact of the crisis in the Red Sea on January production.

(Report by Gilles Guillaume, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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