PARIS — Renault Group’s world product sales rose 18.7 % inside the first half of the yr in distinction with the equivalent interval in 2020, with Renault mannequin up 18.5 % and low-cost mannequin Dacia up 24.5 %. 

Nevertheless the persevering with have an effect on of the coronavirus pandemic and a way beneath CEO Luca de Meo of favoring worthwhile product sales over amount had an impression on Renault’s improvement, the automaker said Friday. Product sales remained properly beneath 2019’s pre-pandemic ranges.

“In an environment nonetheless disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Renault Group purchased 1,422,600 cars inside the first half of 2021, up 18.7 % on 2020, nonetheless down 24.2 % on the first half of 2019″, Renault said.

Renault mannequin recorded 901,500 product sales, with Europe accounting for 59 % of amount – and the best 5 European markets (France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK) made up 40 % of all product sales. Product sales had been up 13.2 % in Europe.

Compared with the first half of 2019, Renault mannequin product sales fell by 26.7 %, in keeping with agency research.

Outcomes for Renault’s key fashions in Europe:

• Captur small SUV: Up about 50 % to 94,202 product sales
• Clio small automotive: Up about 12 % to 110,576 product sales, nonetheless lagging the mannequin’s good factors complete
• Arkana compact coupe SUV: New to Europe, 8,533 product sales, of which half had been full-hybrid variations
• Twingo ZE full-electric minicar: A model new model, with 11,542 product sales
• Hybrids: Renault said 25 % of all European product sales inside the first half had been E-Tech hybrid fashions, each full or plug-in

Fabrice Cambolive, head of product sales for the Renault mannequin, said more-expensive fashions resembling hybrid variations of the Clio had been selling properly, allowing the group to edge upwards with regards to worth.

Cambolive said it was onerous to guage the have an effect on of a worldwide semiconductor shortage with regards to automobile product sales so far this yr.

“We’re able to play with shares, it’s onerous to see (the impression) on product sales,” he instructed journalists.

An excellent spot for Renault mannequin was light-commercial cars. First-half product sales in Europe had been up 46 % to 159,509 fashions 

The picture for Dacia was moreover mixed. First half product sales, at 262,814, had been down 29 % from 2019. In Europe, the Spring full-electric minicar, new to the market in 2021, recorded 2,628 product sales of which 1,699 had been in June alone. Product sales of the new-generation Sandero small automotive had been up 23 %, to 84,525, from the sooner model for the half. 

Under CEO Luca de Meo, Dacia and Lada are being blended proper right into a single enterprise unit. Blended product sales for the producers had been up 28.5 % inside the first half, Renault said.

France remained the group’s No. 1 market with 287,601 product sales, nonetheless market share fell by 2.5 share elements. Russia was the second-biggest market with 270,285 product sales, with a obtain of 0.8 share elements of market share. Product sales of Russian mannequin Lada mannequin had been up 51 % in its residence nation, and 41 % complete.

Reuters contributed to this report