The Renault-Nissan Alliance has confirmed earlier reports it sold a record 8,266,098 vehicles in 2013, propelled by (also) record sales in its two largest markets, China and the United States, making it the globe’s fourth largest automaker behind Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen.
Renault-Nissan’s 2013 calendar year sales, which includes Russia’s AvtoVAZ, increased 2.1% from 2012. This marks the fifth straight year of sales growth. Together, Renault, Nissan and AvtoVAZ account for one in 10 cars sold worldwide.
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“Strong demand in the world’s top markets more than offset anemic growth and declines elsewhere,” said Renault-Nissan chairman and CEO 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 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% from 2012. Sales in Europe rose 2.4% to 1,301,864 units despite a 1.7% decline in the overall market. Renault’s European market share rose 0.4 percentage points to 9.5%, making it 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 totaling 1,326,344 units, up 3.8% from 2012.
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By GlobalDataNissan Motor Corporation sold 5,102,979 units worldwide, up 3.3% – a record for the fourth straight calendar year. Nissan continued to generate more than 1m units in its two biggest markets: China and the US.
AvtoVAZ, owner of the iconic Lada brand, sold 534,911 vehicles globally, down 12.1% from 2012 amid the economic slowdown in Russia. The alliance has a majority stake in Russia’s largest automaker through a joint venture with state corporation RosTech (formerly known as Russia Technologies). Together, the alliance and its partner sell about one in three cars in Russia.
Renault and Nissan highlights
The group’s top 10 markets in 2013 were China, US, Russia, Japan, France, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, the UK and Turkey.
In China, the world’s largest auto market, Nissan sold a record 1,266,167 units in 2013, up 17.2%. It is the leading Japanese brand in China, with a 5.9% market share. Its sales include Venucia, its local Chinese brand with partner Dongfeng Motor.
In December 2013, Renault announced it had received approval from Chinese authorities to start producing cars 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, including Infiniti brand vehicles, up 9.4% compared with 2012. Nissan brand sales increased 10.8.% 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 Leaf EV. Nissan and Infiniti together held a market share of 8.0% in the US in 2013, a 0.1% increase versus the prior year.
Despite the economic downturn in Russia, Renault’s sales increased 10.7% 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%, up 1.1%. Nissan sold 154,996 units in Russia and its market share edged up 0.1% to 5.6%.
In its home market Japan, Nissan’s sales grew 2.9% to 678,824 units, including minivehicles. Mini-vehicles jumped 21.3% to 185,929 units, a record for the second straight year. Nissan’s market share in Japan was 12.6%, up 0.3% from 2012.
In France, Renault’s home market, Renault’s group sales totaled 547,693 units, down 0.7%. Renault had six vehicles among France’s top 10 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 number one brand in the country with sales rising 7.6% to 264,463 units, marking an all-time calendar year record. Nissan’s market share stood at 24.9%, unchanged from 2012.
In India, a key strategic market for the alliance in the future and home to its first dedicated plant, Renault’s sales soared 83.1% to 64,368 units despite a 7.5% slump in the passenger car market. Renault’s sales were boosted by the success of Duster, making it the leading European automaker in the market. Market share in India stood at 2.6%, almost double that of 2012.
AvtoVAZ highlights
AvtoVAZ sold 456,309 vehicles in Russia in 2013. Together Renault-Nissan and its Russian partner sold 821,404 units in 2013, down 7.8% from 2012 as the overall economy slowed. The alliance’s market share, including AvtoVAZ, stood at 29.7%.
In December 2012, the alliance created a joint venture with state corporation RosTech to take control of AvtoVAZ. Renault-Nissan will spend RUB23bn (US$742m) in the joint venture to help modernise 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 1.7m cars per year in Russia. Today their joint manufacturing complex in Togliatti is home to one of the largest platform sharing programmes in the alliance. The site – one of the world’s largest car plants — already produces the Lada Largus and the Nissan Almera. Production will soon span five models across four brands – Lada, Renault, Nissan and Datsun.
Spending on this project will total about EUR400m.
Zero-emission highlights
Though it has just axed the Fluence EV sedan, Renault-Nissan alliance is still the only automaker with a wide range of 100% electric vehicles (EVs) which can be charged with purely renewable energy.
In 2013, the alliance sold 66,809 electric vehicles worldwide, up 52% from the previous year. Sales of the Nissan Leaf rose 77% to 47,716 units, while sales of Renault’s four electric vehicle models – Kangoo ZE, Fluence ZE, Zoe and Twizy – grew 13% to 19,093 units.
In France alone, the Kangoo ZE small van sold 4,174 units, up 46% from 2012, or about 12% of all Kangoo sales.
The alliance’s worldwide zero-emission market share in 2013 stood at 63%, including the Twizy, a two seat urban commuter. The Leaf was the world’s best-selling EV with a market share of 45% in 2013. In Europe, Renault was the leader with a 38.6% share.
The alliance sold a cumulative 134,383 zero-emission vehicles globally from December 2010 – when the Leaf went on sale – until the end of 2013, more than all major automakers combined.
The Leaf sold a cumulative 96,847 units during that period. On 20 January, 2014, Nissan celebrated the sale of its 100,000th unit to a customer in the UK.
Since the debut of Renault’s first EV – the Kangoo ZE – in October 2011 until the end of 2013, the French automaker sold 37,536 zero-emission vehicles cumulatively.
