PARIS (Reuters) – Renault, the Western carmaker most exposed to the Russian market, posted a drop in first quarter revenues compared to a year earlier, as the conflict in Ukraine and problems with supplies of semiconductor hit the market. The group, which also produces Dacia and Lada brand vehicles, said its sales fell by 2.7% from a year earlier to 9.748 billion euros ($10.6 billion). Excluding the activities of Avtovaz and Renault Russia, it stood at 8.9 billion euros, down by 1.1%.
Renault has been pushing ahead with plans to split its electric (EV) and combustion businesses, as it catches up to rivals such as Tesla and Volkswagen and reviews its business in Russia amid wide-ranging Western sanctions.
Renault confirmed a financial outlook laid out in March and announced it would give a more detailed update on its targets and strategy later this year.
“In a market environment severely disrupted by the conflict in Ukraine, the semiconductor crisis and inflation, Renault Group is continuing its recovery and accelerating the implementation of its strategy,” Thierry Piéton, Renault’s finance chief, said in a statement.
($1 = 0.9223 euros)
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, editing by Tassilo Hummel)
