Renault sales fall more dramatically than market during Covid

Renault Ireland recorded a 35 per cent drop in turnover last year to €127.6 million, resulting in a 76 per cent fall in operating profit to €349,636.

The company’s turnover comprised €110.2 million in vehicle sales and €17.4 million from the spare parts business.

Accounts just filed show a significant increase in stock, with vehicle and parts valued at €22 million being held at the end of last year compared to €6.4 million at the end of 2019.

The directors say the vehicle market last year was significantly impacted by both the Covid pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. In a total new car market in 2020 of 88,325, Renault sold 4.067 new cars while its sister brand Dacia sold 1,874.

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In a market that was down 24.5 per cent on the previous year, both brands were down by 38 per cent on their 2019 sales figures.

In a new van market of 21,732 sales – down 14.2 per cent on 2019 – Renault sold 2,832 new vehicles, a drop of 21.8 per cent on the previous year.

While the directors’ report acknowledges 2020 as a difficult year for the group in Ireland, combined sales for both brands meant it was the fourth largest new vehicle distributor in the Republic.

This year has seen significant recovery in both the new car and van markets. Initial figures to the end of July show sales of nearly 89,000 new cars. Compared to the same seven-month period during the pre-Covid market of 2019, that’s a drop of just 13 per cent.

This is despite showrooms being closed for the first five months due to Covid restrictions, forcing dealers onto online sales platforms.

Registrations

Renault has recorded just over 3,500 new car registrations in 2021, while Dacia has just under 2,000. Those are down 42.3 per cent and 27 per cent respectively on sales in the same period of 2019.

In the van market sales to the end of July are now ahead of 2019 by 12.5 per cent, with close to 21,500 registrations. Renault has sold nearly 2,600 vans this year, down 5 per cent on 2019.

The company, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the French car giant, had staff costs for its 27 employees totalled €2 million, down from €2.4 million the previous year.