Currently reading: Renault hits 770,000 vehicle sales in 2023 driven by C-segment push

Europe remained the French brand's biggest market, with 501,985 vehicles sold there in the first half of 2023

Renault sold more than 770,800 vehicles globally in the first half of 2023 – an 11% rise on the same period in 2022 – and most sales were in Europe, driven by a surge in demand for its most profitable C-segment vehicles.

These cars – which include the Renault Austral, Renault Arkana and Renault Mégane E-Tech – accounted for 136,195 sales, a rise of 42% on the year before.

Demand for the new Austral – which was only released in France at the end of last year and will arrive in the UK later this year from £34,695 – pushed this rise, with 39,495 sales in its first six months on sale in select markets. The sub-£30,000 Arkana was Renault’s C-segment best-seller, with 41,821 examples sold.

These cars also helped drive the brand’s 40% year-on-year rise (to 83,000) in hybrid sales.  Hybrids accounted for 65% of all Austral sales and 55% of all Arkana sales.

Electric vehicles – Renault’s passenger car EV line-up comprises just the Renault Zoe E-Tech and Mégane E-Tech – also played a part in the brand’s sales increase. The Mégane, launched last year, hit more than 23,000 and accounted for nearly 50% of the brand’s total EV sales (48,000). It was the best-selling EV in its segment in France.

01 Renault megane e tech electric rt 2022 lead driving 0

The French brand has also achieved success with its direct-to-customer retail sales, which accounted for 51% of the 770,807 vehicles (584,831 cars and 185,976 light commercial vehicles) sold. This is part of a push by the brand to create relationships with customers directly, rather than through dealers, in a bid to increase sales – although it is not as direct as a full-blown agency model change like other firms, such as JLR, are pursuing.

Of its global sales, 501,985 were made in Europe (a 21% increase on the year before). A rise in key markets, such as the UK (+61%), Netherlands (+58%), Spain (+47%) and Italy (+35%) accounted for a large share of this growth. France, with 198,954 sales (144,715 cars and 54,239 LCVs), remained its strongest market.

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Renault brand CEO Fabrice Cambolive said: “We got off to a good start this year, and the efforts we've made have put us back into second place in Europe.

“This is the result of the success of Austral and Mégane E-Tech electric and the commitment of our network and Renault team. We will accelerate in the second semester with the all-new Espace, the new Clio and the new Arkana.”

Will Rimell

Will Rimell
Title: News editor

Will is Autocar's news editor.​ His focus is on setting Autocar's news agenda, interviewing top executives, reporting from car launches, and unearthing exclusives.

As part of his role, he also manages Autocar Business – the brand's B2B platform – and Haymarket's aftermarket publication CAT.

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