2023-04-20 07:55:00
(Updated with webcast analysts, comments, prices, details)
by Gilles Guillaume
PARIS, April 20 (Archyde.com) – Renault RENA.PA announced on Thursday a strong 29.9% increase in its turnover in the first quarter thanks to a rebound in its sales in volume and the maintenance of a strong price effect. and ensured that it does not want to engage in a price war in the wake of announcements by competitor Tesla TSLA.O.
The Californian electric specialist regularly lowers its prices, and the starting catalog price of its Model 3 is now at the level of that of the new Mégane (42,000 euros), one of Renault’s flagship electric models.
“The pressure is on Renault to reconsider its EV pricing strategy after Tesla’s series of cuts,” Third Bridge analysts commented in a note.
In the first exchanges, the action of the diamond group fell by around 6%. The entire automotive sector is also under pressure from Tesla, underlines a trader, and the index of European stocks in the compartment fell by 2%.
Tesla a
published Wednesday evening
a gross margin in the first quarter below expectations, in the wake of its campaign of price cuts. The action of the manufacturer led by Elon Musk fell nearly 4% in transactions after the close of the New York Stock Exchange.
During a conference call with analysts, CFO Thierry Piéton assured that there was “no big incentive to lower prices” and to engage in a “(bearish) spiral like what some of the competitors are doing”.
The group’s strategy consists of adjusting the terms of its financing offers at the margin, he added, judging the current price of long-term rental of the Mégane – between 300 and 400 euros per month – sufficiently competitive.
Supported by the recent launches of the Mégane – 11,000 sales in the first quarter – but also of the Dacia Jogger and the Renault Arkana and Austral, the French car manufacturer saw its unit sales rebound by 14.1% over the first three months of the year. year to 535,000 vehicles, after four consecutive years of decline, giving a turnover of 11.498 billion.
This figure is higher than an analyst consensus of 11.076 billion euros provided by Renault.
“The group is pursuing its commercial policy centered on value by optimizing its price and commercial discount policy, and by concentrating on the most profitable channels”, declared Thierry Piéton, quoted in a press release.
The price effect remained strong at 9.4 points and the product mix effect, also reflecting the move upmarket during launches, rose to 5.2 points.
“The high backlog at the end of March and all upcoming launches will continue to support the group’s commercial activity,” he added.
Renault thus expects its order backlog in Europe to remain above two months throughout the year, after a new record of 3.3 months of sales at the end of March.
The French car manufacturer has also maintained its 2023 objectives, i.e. an operating margin greater than or equal to 6% and an automotive operating free cash flow greater than or equal to two billion euros.
The turnover of the quarter no longer includes the Russian industrial activities, deconsolidated after their sale in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
(Gilles Guillaume, with Lucy Raitano, edited by Camille Raynaud and Blandine Hénault)
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