PARIS: Sales in French auto giant Renault rose last year, the company said Wednesday, ending four years of decline.
The group said it had sold some 2.2 million vehicles in 2023 – an increase of nine percent on the previous year.
It put the increase down to growth in its three core brands – Renault, Dacia and Alpine – and said sales were particularly strong in Europe, where it posted growth of 19 percent.
The Alpine brand led the sales growth with 22 percent, Dacia with 14.7 percent and Renault with 9.4 percent.
The strong sales figures put Renault in second place in Europe in terms of market share – up from fifth position in 2022.
The carmaker said it plans to launch 10 new models through 2024.
In December, Renault said it was selling to Nissan part of the stake it owns in the Japanese automaker as the two companies rebalance their alliance.
Their partnership began in 1999, when Renault rescued Nissan from bankruptcy.
Mitsubishi Motors joined in 2016, with Nissan taking a 34-percent stake in its struggling Japanese rival.
But numerous tensions emerged within the group, including by the French state increasing its stake in Renault in 2015 and the 2018 arrest of its leader Carlos Ghosn in Japan on suspicion of financial misconduct and his subsequent flight from the country.
As part of the rebalanced alliance, Nissan took a stake in Renault's new electric car division called Ampere. -- AFP
