The Renault brand shines again. The managers have just published commercial results for Losange in 2023. They mark its return to the “game”, as Luca de Meo, the group’s boss, would say. With 1.548 million vehicles sold in 2023, Renault is “the best-selling French brand in the world,” they say. Suffice to say that Renault has supplanted the Peugeot brand, the only French one in competition. Citroën is no longer really in the race.
Sales of Renault-branded vehicles increased by 9.4% last year and even by 19.9% for utility vehicles (commercial vehicles). In Europe, market share increased significantly, with Renault moving from 5th place to second, behind Volkswagen in the vehicle and utility market. In France, in its core market, the Renault brand totaled 390,485 sales (up 16.2% compared to 2022) in these two segments while Peugeot totaled 305,295 (0.1%) coming in second. position. The Clio is the big winner of the year with 111,741 registrations – sold to individuals and businesses – in France, which places it at the top of the models sold in France.
Fabrice Cambolive, the boss of the Renault brand, explains these good performances by the commercial dynamics with the vehicle launches last year (Arkana, Austral, EspaceE-Tech, Megane E-Tech). “Our choice to market ‘full hybrids – the non-rechargeable hybrid -‘ has been acclaimed. The commercial policy built with our network has worked well, observes the manager. The high-end versions of these models also pleased customers. In particular the more expensive sports versions, called “Esprit Alpine”, of the Austral and Espace.
These are only figures relating to sales volumes. The turnover and margin achieved by the brand will be revealed in a month at the same time as the financial results of the entire group. Fabrice Cambolive emphasizes that half of the brand’s sales were made through individuals, a more profitable channel than that of professionals and rental companies.
In 2024, the landscape will certainly be more contrasted for Renault. The level of orders is particularly low for the entire market. The bonus for the purchase of an electric vehicle should be reduced by 1000 euros by a future decree. “We will have two launches of electric vehicles this year, the Scenic E-Tech and the R5 E-Tech and three new full hybrid models,” reassures Fabrice Cambolive. Asked about the modest sales (18,000 copies according to AAA Data) of the Megane E-Tech in 2023, the boss of the Renault brand recalls that this model has reached 7.7% market share in France in the electric vehicle segment . It is on the third step of the podium behind the Volkswagen ID3 and just after the MG4 from the Chinese SAIC.
This year, Renault could benefit from the 25,000 long-term rental “sales” of electric vehicles supported by the government as part of “social leasing”, this aid offered by the government to facilitate the acquisition of electric vehicles for low-income households (15 400 euros of annual income per tax share). Renault has in fact offered two vehicles whose long-term rental will benefit from aid of 13,000 euros. “We did well to offer two models located at both ends of the chain: the Twingo at 40 euros per month and the Megane E-Tech at 150 euros per month,” believes Fabrice Cambolive. The Megane E-Tech is not sold off, however. Its price is adapted to the needs of customers with different levels of battery autonomy. However, the brand has just added the ZOE and the Kangoo to its initial offering.
