2022, a strange year for the car. In a year 2020 is under the sign of Covid, and 2021, weakened by the post-crisis health care sector, the year ending has also been marked by its share of crises. The shortage of chips from China and cables from Ukraine thus causing a supply crisis. Most manufacturers’ order books are full. The deliveries were carried out in bits and pieces, lack of spare parts. Thus, the French market recorded a registrations fell 7.8% with 1,529,035 units. In comparison, this is down from 2021 with 1,659,053 registrations. And this is a far cry from 2019 (the last “normal” year) and its 2.2 million. In this complex context, how did it happen the second French manufacturer, Renault?

The leader of the C-segment

In registrations, the fall for the manufacturer is even greater than for the market: -14.7% for the year. In particular, 236,405 private vehicles (PS) were registered. Against 99,566 light commercial vehicles (LCVs). Are these numbers alarming? Not at all. Remember that after the fall of Carlos Ghosn and the arrival of Lucas Di Meo at the head of Renault, the diamond brand made a radical turn: give preference to the cost of models over their sales volumes. Specifically, it led to a brand upscaling, price increaseand one reorientation to retail sales (115,606 registrations, +12%), more profitable than the professional channel. Therefore, the volume of sales decreased, but value creation increased.

Relative decline in volume

In this game Renault has thus multiplied novelties on the most floating segments. Similar to the C segment, historically dominated in France by the Peugeot 3008. Arkana entered the top 10 sales (31,638 units)while the news Electric Megane E-Tech recorded 15,580 units in the first months on the market. The recently arrived Austral should contribute to this good health of the C-segment. There was also the Kadjar (discontinued in 2022) and the thermal Mégane (on borrowed time). Therefore, the drop in sales is quite relative.. Renault remains LCV leader (28.6% market share, 99,566 registrations). For the rest, hybrid sales (59,355, +55.8%), electric (40,430, +24.5%) and from Alpine (2138, +32.1%) all increased. A new value strategy driven by the Renaulution plan begins to bear fruit. With several electric models planned for 2023 and 2024 (R4, R5, Scenic…), The year that begins will also be a novelty for the second brand in the French market.