Renault are the comeback kings!

2010 Car Makers Champions League winners, Renault boosted global sales by 14% last year to a record as emerging markets rebounded and government sales subsidies drove European demand.

Renault sold 2.63 million units worldwide, compared with 2.31 million in 2009 but believe the European market will stagnate or contract as much as 2% in 2010 after all the government backed incentives have been withdrawn.

Renault will “pursue its growth on buoyant markets outside Europe” in 2011, the French car manufacturer said in the statement, forecasting a 4% global car market expansion. Sales outside Europe jumped 26%, after an 11% decline in 2009, as demand for cars recovered in emerging markets. Registrations jumped by one-third in Renault’s “Eurasia” sales region, which includes Russia and other former Soviet states.

Sales subsidies continued to boost some European markets including France, where the government phased out the original 1,000 euro bonus in three steps ending with its withdrawal on December 31st last year. Renault’s sales gained 6.1% in France in 2010 and rose 8.5% in the rest of Europe.

In the UK Renault has witnessed a remarkable turnaround. In this year’s Motor Trade Insider Car Makers Champion League they finished top with a massive 51% increase in the number of cars registered when compared with the previous year. 2009 saw them shift 63,174 units compared with 95,608 in 2010 a jump of 32,434 units all together. This is all the more remarkable when you look at 2009’s league table where they finished bottom with a 29% drop on the previous year. And they even improved on the 2008 total of 89,570 units by 6,038 or just over 6%. Overall Renault finished as the 7th biggest manufacturer by volume (top 10 below) and increased their market share from 3.17% to 4.92%, all in all a quite astonishing performance.

So what do Renault themselves put their comeback down to? Renault UK managing Director Thierry Sybord told us:

“We are delighted to have achieved the largest growth in year-on-year sales for our car and van range. Our results prove that the strategy we implemented two years ago with our network partners focusing on profitable business has paid off. The network has embraced our strategy and our sales teams have taken full advantage of our product and customer offers to drive up sales. 2011 will be just as exciting as we start the roll-out of our Z.E. electric vehicle range”

Global sales boss Jerome Stoll revealed that Renault’s priorities for 2011 will be its international expansion and the introduction of new battery-powered vehicles beginning in the second half of the year.

Renault will launch three electric vehicles in Europe this year; the “Fluence” saloon, “Kangoo” van and the two-seat “Twizy”. The subcompact “Zoe” will launch next year. The Zoe is projected to be the best-selling EV for Renault. Nissan, with which Renault has an EV alliance, is currently rolling out its Leaf electric hatchback globally.

The car maker revealed last week it had suspended three senior executives as it investigates suspected leaks of electric-car designs and cost data to foreign competitors.

Top 10 UK Manufacturers by volume 2010