Covid crisis hits sales but French automaker reports a strong commercial recovery in June; in H2, it plans to steps up its product offensive in Europe, a new Duster in the Americas and the Kiger SUV in India.
20 Jul 2020 | 8162 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
The Renaut Group today released its sales performance numbers for the January to June 2020 period. The numbers have clearly, as they are for all automakers, impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Renault Group suspended sales and industrial activities in most countries from mid-March and saw its sales fall 34.9% to 1,256,658 ...
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The Renaut Group today released its sales performance numbers for the January to June 2020 period. The numbers have clearly, as they are for all automakers, impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Renault Group suspended sales and industrial activities in most countries from mid-March and saw its sales fall 34.9% to 1,256,658 units in the first half, in a market down 28.3%. Renault says its “sales volume decline was mainly due to its high exposure to countries that have undergone a strict lockdown.”
“The world is going through an unprecedented crisis with a major impact on our business. As soon as the recovery began, our plants and sales network quickly mobilised to meet our customers' needs, with demand sustained in June by government aid measures in Europe. We are starting the second half of the year with a very high level of orders, a satisfactory level of inventory, a rising price positioning across the entire range, and a new E-Tech Hybrid offer that is unique in its segment and already very well received said Denis le Vot, member of the Executive Committee, Senior Vice President Sales and Regions of Groupe Renault.
The sales performance
The sales of the Group (France and Europe) amounted to 623,854 vehicles, down 41.8% in a market that was down 38.9%. The company says the New Clio was the best-selling vehicle within the B-segment in Europe in the first half, with 102,949 units sold.
In the first half of the year, the Dacia brand recorded a 48.1% decline in sales to 161,334 vehicles sold, impacted by its exposure to the retail market strongly affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
Outside Europe, the Group was particularly affected by the market downturn in Russia (-23.3%), in India (-49.4%), in Brazil (-39.0%), and China (-20.8%).
In Russia, the Group's second-largest country in terms of sales volume, Groupe Renault is the leader with a market share of 30.2%, up 1.4 points. Sales fell 19.5% in a market that contracted 23.3%. The Renault brand's market share rose 0.3 points to 8.1%. Arkana confirmed its success with more than 7,000 vehicles registered in the first half and established Renault in a brand-new coupe-SUV segment in Russia.
In India, Group sales fell 28.7% in a market that was down 49.4%. Renault reached a market share of 2.8% (+0.8 points). Nearly 13,000 Tribers were sold in the first six months. In the second half, the Renault range (Kwid, Duster, Triber) will be expanded with the arrival of a brand-new SUV – the Kiger – which is expected to be launched by October 2020.
In Brazil, where overall sales were down 39.0%, Renault Group sales fell 46.9%, mainly due to the new strategy of improving profitability and repositioning vehicle prices.
In China, the Group's volumes were down 21.2% in a market that declined by 20.8%. The Group is currently implementing a new strategy aimed at refocusing its activities on LCVs with Renault Brilliance Jinbei Automotive Co, Ltd and electric vehicles with eGT New Energy Automotive Co, Ltd (eGT) and Jiangxi Jiangling Group Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd (JMEV).
In South Korea, the Group recorded a 51.3% increase in sales in a market up 6.9% mainly due to the success of its new XM3 model launched in March 2020, which sold more than 22,000 units over four months.
EV sales rise
The sales volumes of the Renault brand worldwide rose by 38%, with more than 42,000 vehicles sold in the first half. In Europe, the Zoe is the best-selling car with a sales growth close to 50% to 37,540 units and reached a record level of orders in June with nearly 11,000 orders.
The electric offensive with the arrival of Twingo Z.E. and the launch of E-TECH Hybrid engines (New Clio Hybrid, New Captur Plug-In Hybrid and New Megane Estate Plug-In Hybrid), have strengthened the Group's trajectory towards achieving its CAFE objectives for 2020.