(Bloomberg) — Renault SA sales dropped nearly 30% in the first half after the carmaker’s forced withdrawal from the Russian market and persisting parts shortages dented shipments.
Renault sold around 1 million vehicles in the first six months of the year, it said Tuesday. That’s less than half of what it shipped during the same period four years ago, when the company was on an expansion course. The decline narrows to 12% excluding Russia, which was the firm’s second-biggest market thanks to the popular Lada brand.
Renault fell as much as 2.4% in Paris. The shares are down around a quarter this year.
The French automaker was forced to pull out of Russia because of the war in Ukraine, transferring its plant near Moscow and its AvtoVaz venture for a symbolic sum. Like all automakers, Renault is also wrestling with a global shortage of semiconductors that has curbed output of new vehicles, leaving consumers waiting months for deliveries.
Executives said they’re expecting production of Renault models to rise in the second half as some supply issues improve.
Higher Output
Output over the past weeks reached last year’s levels or higher, and “this will accelerate over the next months,” Fabrice Cambolive, chief operating officer of the main Renault brand, said on a call with reporters. “We are forecasting a second half significantly higher in terms of production that the first half.”
Renault boosted the share of sales to private buyers — transactions that usually are more profitable — to 66% from 53% in the five main European auto markets.
The company also sold 12% more SUV-style cars, a key part of Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo’s turnaround plan. Sales of no-frills Dacia vehicles rose 5.9%.
The order backlog in Europe stood at a “high level” of 4.1 months of sales at the end of last month, the company said.
(Updates with shares in third paragraph.)
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