Renault posts 3.2 percent rise in 2014 vehicle sales

BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, France (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault on Monday said sales of passenger cars and light trucks rose 3.2 percent to 2,712,432 vehicles in 2014, as Dacia and Renault brand sales in Europe helped offset a drop in demand elsewhere. Vehicle registrations in Europe rose 12.5 percent during the year, thanks to strong sales of the Renault Clio and Captur models as well as demand for the Dacia Sandero and Duster, Renault said in a statement on Monday. By contrast, car registrations outside Europe fell 5.9 percent, with a 10.7 percent drop in volumes in the Americas and a 9.2 percent decline in Africa, the Middle East and India. In 2015, the global market is expected to record modest growth of 2 percent compared with 2014, with Europe seen growing 1 percent to 2 percent and France remaining stable, Renault said. "We are forecasting an increase in our global volumes, the strengthening of our position in Europe and improvements in our positions on our main emerging markets," Jerome Stoll, Renault's executive committee member responsible for sales and marketing, said in the statement. In China, the group recorded only 34,067 new registrations in 2014 as Renault prepares to launch its first locally manufactured vehicles in 2016, a year after the creation of Dongfeng Renault Automotive Company (DRAC), its joint venture with Dongfeng. (Reporting by Edward Taylor and Gilles Guillaume; Editing by James Regan)