Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world’s largest automotive alliance, has announced that unit sales at its member companies rose 5.1 per cent to a new record of 5,538,530 vehicles in the six months to June 30.

The three Alliance member companies saw increased demand in product segments including crossovers, sports utility vehicles, pick-ups as well as zero-emission electric and hybrid-electric models, said a statement.

Of the core brands, Renault reported increased sales of the Clio, Captur and Scenic; Dacia posted half-year sales record; Nissan saw higher demand for models including the Note, Serena, X-Trail and Qashqai; and Mitsubishi Motors’ volumes were enhanced by sales of the new Eclipse Cross and Xpander, it said.

Both Renault and Nissan reported strong demand in the electric vehicle (EV) segment. Renault secured 21.9 per cent of the European EV market share with Zoe and Kangoo ZE, which also holds 38 per cent of the electric LCV market share.

At Nissan, demand for the new Leaf contributed to EV sales of over 47,000 in the first half, and became the best-selling electric vehicle in Europe for the first half of this year with more than 18,000 registrations. Mitsubishi Motors remained the market leader in the PHEV SUV segment with continued orders for its hybrid-electric Outlander.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, said: “Our member companies continue to lift unit sales in multiple markets, reflecting our brands’ competitive and attractive offerings.”

“This strong sales performance in the first half of 2018 shows we are on track with the forecast we set in our Alliance 2022 mid-term plan,” he added.

Under the six-year mid-term plan, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is forecasting combined sales of more than 14 million units annually by the end of 2022, up more than 30 per cent from the 10.6 million units sold by the Alliance member companies in 2017.

The plan also involves deepening convergence between the member companies, including the use of common platforms and powertrains, while sharing innovation in electrification, connectivity and autonomous drive technologies.

Vehicles sold by the Alliance member companies accounted for approximately one in nine cars sold worldwide in the first half of the year. Among the different brands:

Groupe Renault sold 2.1 million vehicles in the first half of 2018, setting half-year sales records for the Renault and Dacia brands. In Europe, Renault remained the second best-selling brand where Captur is number one in its segment.

Nissan Motor sold 2.8 million vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands worldwide. In China, the company achieved sales growth of 10.8 per cent.

Mitsubishi Motors sold 616,648 vehicles worldwide, as the company launched its new Eclipse Cross in more than 60 countries.

Also, exports of the Xpander from Indonesia to the Philippines began in April. The results were also driven by Thailand, with strong demand for pick-ups, and China with the Outlander SUV, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service