The retreat from Russia has the sales figures of the French car manufacturer Renault dropped significantly in the first half of the year. Global sales fell 29.7 percent to just over a million vehicles, Renault announced on Tuesday. Without the Russian business, sales fell by 12 percent. The market environment continued to be characterized by a shortage of semiconductors.
Renault had withdrawn from the Russian market because of the war in the Ukraine and the Western sanctions imposed on Russia in April. The carmaker is selling its 68 percent majority stake in the Russian Lada manufacturer Avtovaz to the Russian research institute Nami with a six-year buyback option. Overall, Renault has written off around 2.2 billion euros on the Russian business.
Russia is the second largest market after Europe for the Renault Group, which Citibank estimates has generated 8 percent of its profits in the country. Last year, the French carmaker, in which the French state still holds 15 percent, had one made a significant turnaround. Renault made a net profit of 888 million euros – after a record loss of eight billion euros in the Corona year 2020.
The investment bank Oddo BHF left the rating for Renault on “neutral” with a price target of 30 euros after the sales figures on Tuesday. Analyst Michael Foundoukidis wrote that the forthcoming reporting season will hardly silence discussions about the prospects for the auto industry. Equity valuations are now pricing in a severe recession in the coming year. Foundoukidis is also cautious and cut its estimates for 2023.