Renault Invests Heavily on Global Electrified Sales Expansion

French automaker Renault pledges to invest €3.0 billion ($3.2 billion) into bringing eight new battery-electric vehicles to global markets by 2027 in an attempt to reduce its dependency on European sales.

This is a major shift to its 2021 turnaround strategy that saw the automaker focus on BEV and compact-vehicle sales as the most profitable segments in Europe. The success of this strategy was highlighted in WardsAuto’s wide-ranging interview with CEO Luca de Meo in September when he says: “Consider here at Renault, where we moved from having the worst financial results in the 125 years of our history in 2020 to the best results in its whole history in 2023.”

Now Reuters reports the strategic move towards a focus on global sales could be influenced by Renault’s loss of the Russian market, previously the group’s second largest market, following its war with Ukraine. That has made Renault increasingly dependent on Europe with nearly 69% of sales in the first nine months of 2023 coming from Europe, up from 63% for the same period last year.

The first of Renault's new vehicles for global markets is a small CUV derived from the Dacia Sandero, called Kardian, which was revealed this week in Brazil, now the brand's second-largest market after France. The car will be launched next year in Latin America and Morocco. The models will be based on two new platforms. The first is a modular platform that includes the Kardian, for assembly in Latin America, Turkey, Morocco and India. It will also be the base of a hybrid all-wheel-drive pickup truck. Renault also presented a concept model of that vehicle, the Niagara, in Brazil.

Renault says that by 2027, BEVs and hybrids should make up a third of sales outside Europe. In a statement, Renault brand CEO Fabrice Cambolive states: “As our product renewal is bearing fruit in Europe, we are now going to make the brand more global and more profitable.”