Renault Sales Plummet 19% as COVID-19 Crisis Hits Auto Industry

The health crisis has exacerbated the French group’s poor economic situation. As a result, the company’s revenue fell by 19.2% in the first quarter of 2020 to 10.12 billion euros (-18.3%, at constant exchange rates and scope). Between December 2019 and March 2020, its liquidity reserves for its core business fell from 5.5 billion euros to 10.3 billion euros.

"We are facing an unprecedented situation. Our visibility is extremely low, given that there is no certainty about the date when we can return to normal life," said Clotilde Delbos, Renault’s interim CEO, during a conference call.

Renault and its competitor PSA have seen a sharp decline in sales. Renault’s sales fell by 25.9% with 672,962 vehicles sold, while the global market is down 24.6%. For its part, PSA’s revenue fell by 15.6% over the same period (15.2 billion euros) while its sales fell by 29% (627,000 units).

In detail, sales in Russia (115,713 units) exceed volumes sold in France (110,467). This unprecedented performance is explained by the fact that Russia imposed confinement on its population later. In France, the closure of dealerships has caused a 38% drop in sales.

Based on these results, "we will restart slowly because our employees need to get used to the health measures. We also don’t want to restart too quickly before seeing how demand will evolve," explained Clotilde Delbos. However, the automaker is preparing to restart the first factories in France as early as the week of April 27, it is specified.

Note that the French group has a significant presence in northern Morocco. Closed for several weeks, the group’s managers are preparing a gradual reopening in the very near future.