Renault has confirmed that, as a group, it grew its sales in 2023 by nine per cent compared to the previous year, with 2,235,345 new cars delivered across the twelve months.
Of those, the Renault brand itself sold 1,548,748 new cars, an increase of 9.4 per cent on 2022. Dacia sold 658,321 new cars, an increase of 17.4 per cent, and even Alpine, Renault's sports car brand, grew in the face of ever-increasing SUV sales, registering a 22.1 per cent growth in sales.
In the European market, the Renault brand grew its sales by 19.3 per cent in a market which rose by 13.9 per cent overall, and Renault managed to sell almost one million cars to European buyers, with a final total of 977,635 registrations.
2024 will be a huge year
This year, though, will be a huge one for Renault as it launches the revived - and all-electric - Renault 5 and Renault 4, as well as a new electric Scenic (now a crossover rather than a MPV) along with a complete upgrade of the Alpine brand, which will make a sportier version of the electric 5 hatchback called the Alpine A290, as well as its first crossover. Meanwhile, Dacia has the new Duster and Bigster models on the way.
As it launches into 2024, Renault says that it's well-positioned. The Renault Group is the third-biggest of the European car-making conglomerates, and the company claims that in the five major European markets it's sitting on 65 per cent of private retail sales rather than relying on heavily discounted fleet deals. The Group claims that it already had two-and-a-half months worth of orders on its books at the end of 2023.
Electric car demand is growing
Renault also reckons that the market's taste for electric cars is growing, which is just as well as we're now only a handful of weeks away from the reveal of that all-important, all-electric Renault 5 EV. According to the French company: "Within the Renault brand, demand is growing for electrification - hybrid and all-electric. In Europe, the brand is stepping up its offensive, taking third place in electrified vehicles thanks to the Megane E-Tech electric, which has a 2.2 per cent market share of all-electric vehicles." As well, there is the success of its hybrid powertrains for which demand is strongly increasing with the Austral, Clio and Captur in the top 10 hybrid vehicles in Europe.
To help keep that up, the Captur will be overhauled for 2024, with a new look that brings it more into line with the new Scenic EV. It will be joined by the new Rafale hybrid coupe-crossover. There will also be the larger Espace E-Tech Hybrid SUV for Europe, but that won't be coming to Ireland.
High-end models
The company is also noting that its customers are picking the higher-end versions of its models, with 51 per cent of sales of the hybrid-engined Austral SUV being the top-spec Esprit Alpine car.
"Renault is continuing its electrification offensive including hybrid and all-electric vehicles. The strong technological choices made by the brand are proving to be relevant, in line with customer expectations: an all-electric portfolio on the one hand and a hybrid portfolio on the other, for a more progressive energy transition. Renault has thus accelerated its growth, with a 19.7 per cent increase in sales in one year with 270,362 vehicles sold, and took the third place in Europe for electrified passenger cars. Sales volume of electrified vehicles now account for 39.7 per cent of the brand's passenger car sales," said a Renault spokesperson.