French automaker Renault announced a 38% electric car sales increase amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The electric car, Zoe EV has been the star of the show with most deliveries made in Europe.
The interest of the French government for cleaner car alternatives made Zoe the best-selling electric car in Europe. However, Renault’s European market share saw strong volatility in the last decade. The brand hit a low in 2013, gaining some momentum later until a rebound in 2017.
But Renault had the history of claiming the number 2 position in Europe making it a stronger brand to fight the pandemic, according to the car sales base.
Renault’s Car Overall Sales Dropped
Like most of the competitors, Renault’s overall sales were hit hard by the pandemic. The sales numbers started declining once the cities went into lockdown due to the spread of a novel Coronavirus.
The French automaker recorded an overall 35% sales drop in the first half of 2020. But comparing to the rivals like PSA Group (46% sales drop) Renault is in a better position.
It went into a cost-saving mode to protect the company from a Covid-related crisis. But government support is still necessary to protect the jobs in the industry, according to the automaker.
Surprisingly, Renault saw an overall sales increase in South Korea even though the country is very close to the initial Coronavirus hotspots. Nevertheless, bigger markets like Russia, Brazil, and India saw a sharp decline.
| Country | Sales Performance |
| Russia | 10% drop |
| Brazil | 47% drop |
| India | 29% drop |
| South Korea | 51% Jump |
Source: Bloomberg
Why is Renault Electric Car doing Well?
French President Emmanuel Macron decided to entice the auto industry with benefit measures for electric vehicles. Renault saw the opportunity and started building quality clean-energy cars like Zoe.
Now, European consumers are more interested in electric cars. Already the U.S car maker Tesla showed the world how to compete with the traditional car manufacturers by making electric-power cars. And Renault’s Zoe has similar success in Europe because of customer demand.
In June, Renault reported 11,000 Zoe orders outperforming any other brand in the market. The Zoe brand broke all the previous records for Renault in Europe.
Renault’s sales executives are expecting a full swing in production once the recovery begins. The Groupe Renault stated that it is expecting to achieve Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) targets for 2020. Zoe’s massive sales success during the Covid situation will help the company to earn the CAFÉ targets faster.
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