Renault-Nissan claims record car sales

The Renault-Nissan Alliance sold a record 8,266,098 vehicles in 2013, propelled by the car group's two largest markets, China and the United States.

Renault-Nissan's 2013 calendar-year sales, which include sales of Russia's AVTOVAZ, increased 2.1 per cent from 2012. This marks the fifth year in a row of sales growth. Renault, Nissan and AVTOVAZ account for one in ten cars sold worldwide.

"Strong demand in the world's top markets more than offset anaemic growth and declines elsewhere," claims Renault-Nissan chairman and chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn. "We will always experience periods of regional instability, but we remain bullish: The auto industry is a long-term growth story - and the Renault-Nissan Alliance is well positioned to continue to play a major role in all major segments globally."

Renault group sold 2,628,208 units worldwide in 2013, up 3.1 per cent from 2012. Sales in Europe rose 2.4 per cent to 1,301,864 units despite a 1.7 per cent decline in the overall market. Renault's European market share rose 0.4 percentage points to 9.5 per cent,. The company claims it is “the fastest growing automotive group in Europe in 2013”

Renault continued to generate more than 50% of its sales outside of Europe for the second consecutive year with sales outside of the home continent totalling 1,326,344 units, up 3.8 per cent from 2012.

Nissan Motor Corporation sold 5,102,979 units worldwide, up 3.3 per cent – a record for the fourth consecutive calendar year. Nissan continued to generate more than one million units in its two biggest markets: China and the United States.

AVTOVAZ, owner of the Lada brand, sold 534,911 vehicles globally, down 12.1 per cent from 2012 amid the economic slowdown in Russia.  The Renault-Nissan Alliance has a majority stake in AVTOVAZ, Russia's largest automaker, through a joint venture with state corporation RosTech (formerly known as Russia Technologies). Together, the Renault-Nissan Alliance and AVTOVAZ sell about one in three cars in Russia.

In China, the world's largest auto market, Nissan sold a record 1,266,167 units in 2013, up 17.2 per cent. Nissan is the leading Japanese brand in China, with a 5.9 per cent market share. Nissan's sales include Venucia, its local Chinese brand with partner Dongfeng Motor.

In December 2013, Renault received approval from Chinese authorities to being car production in China in 2016 through a joint venture with Dongfeng. The joint venture will establish a plant in Wuhan with production capacity of 150,000 units a year, with the potential to double that figure in the future.

In the US, Nissan reported sales of 1,248,421 units for Nissan and Infiniti brand vehicles, up 9.4 per cent compared with 2012. Nissan brand sales increased 10.8 per cent to a record 1,131,966 units amid strong demand for several models including the Altima sedan, the Rogue crossover, the Versa compact car and the all-electric Nissan LEAF. Nissan and Infiniti together held a market share of 8.0 per cent in the US in 2013, a 0.1 percentage point increase versus the prior year.

Despite the economic downturn in Russia, Renault's sales increased 10.7 per cent to a record 210,099 units. Russia is Renault's third-largest market after France and Brazil.

Renault was Russia's leading foreign brand and second most popular brand in 2013 after Lada thanks to the popularity of its Duster SUV. Renault's market share stood at record 7.6 per cent, up 1.1 percentage points. Nissan sold 154,996 units in Russia and its market share edged up 0.1 percentage points to 5.6%.

In its home market Japan, Nissan's sales grew 2.9 per cent to 678,824 units, including mini-vehicles. Mini-vehicles jumped 21.3 per cent to 185,929 units, a record for the second straight year. Nissan's market share in Japan was 12.6 per cent, up 0.3 percentage points from 2012.

In France, Renault's home market, Renault's group sales totalled 547,693 units, down 0.7 per cent. Renault had six vehicles among France's top ten passenger cars in 2013, including the compact Clio, the best-selling car in the country, and Captur, the most popular crossover. Renault's market share was 25.4%.

Mexico marked another bright spot for the Alliance in 2013. Nissan remained the leading brand in the country with sales rising 7.6 per cent to 264,463 units. Nissan's market share stood at 24.9 per cent, unchanged from 2012. 

In India, a key strategic market for the Alliance in the future and home to its first dedicated Alliance plant, Renault's sales rose 83.1 per cent to 64,368 units despite a 7.5 per cent slump in the passenger car market. Renault's sales were boosted by the success of Duster, making Renault the leading European automaker in the market. Renault's market share in India stood at 2.6 per cent, almost double that of 2012.

In December 2012, the Renault-Nissan Alliance created a joint venture with the Russian state corporation RosTech to take control of AVTOVAZ. Renault-Nissan will invest RUB23 billion (US$ 742 million) in the joint venture to help modernize AVTOVAZ. The investment will give Renault-Nissan 67.13% of the joint venture by mid-2014.

By 2016, the Alliance and AVTOVAZ are expected to have a production capacity of at least 1.7 million cars per year in Russia. The group’s joint manufacturing complex in Togliatti is one of the largest platform-sharing programs in the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The site – one of the world's largest car plants – produces the Lada Largus and the Nissan Almera. Production will soon span five models across four brands - Lada, Renault, Nissan and Datsun. Investments in this project will total about €400 million.

As for zero-emissions vehicles, the Renault-Nissan Alliance claims it is “the only automaker with a wide range of 100 per cent electric vehicles (EVs), which can be charged with purely renewable energy”.

In 2013, the Alliance sold 66,809 electric vehicles worldwide, up 52 per cent from the previous year. Sales of the Nissan LEAF rose 77 per cent to 47,716 units, while sales of Renault's four electric vehicle models - Kangoo Z.E., Fluence Z.E., ZOE and Twizy – grew 13 per cent to 19,093 units.

The Alliance has sold a cumulative 134,383 zero-emission vehicles globally from December 2010 – when Nissan LEAF went on sale – until the end of 2013, more than all major automakers combined.

Nissan LEAF sold a cumulative 96,847 units during that period. On January 20, 2014, Nissan celebrated the sale of its 100,000^th LEAF to a customer in the U.K. ∎