PARIS (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault said on Tuesday first-quarter sales rose 1.8%. Strong performance in the financial business offset the decline in sales in core automotive sales.
The group sold 549,099 vehicles in the same period, with revenue of 11.7 billion euros ($12.47 billion).
This beat the company's consensus, which had expected sales to decline slightly year-on-year to 11.49 billion euros.
The global auto sector is bracing for a difficult year as demand for electric vehicles slows, adding new challenges for companies already battling fierce competition from China.
Renault, which makes the Clio and Twingo, saw sales rise last year after four consecutive years of decline, but weak global demand has put pressure on prices.
Leading electric car maker Tesla has cut prices in several key markets, further increasing pressure on the European company.
Tesla has lowered the price of the Model 3 in Renault's domestic market to $39,990, matching the starting price of the French company's new Scenic EV with less battery autonomy.
Renault said sales rose 2.6% in the quarter, but revenue from its core automotive business fell as independent dealers carried out deeper inventory reductions than in the same period last year.
Income from financing activities increased by 27.9% to 1.25 billion euros, due in part to higher interest rates.
The company reiterated its operating profit margin target of at least 7.5% this year.
(1 dollar = 0.9385 euro)
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
