Renault outpaces European sales recovery with new models

LONDON - French carmaker Renault said on Thursday its global sales rose 13.4 percent to a new record of 1.57 million vehicles in the first half of the year, as a product offensive helped it to outpace a recovering European market. The carmaker will be "watching the British market closely" for signs of a slowdown following the country's referendum vote to leave the EU, sales chief Thierry Koskas told a press conference. Renault kept its full-year market and sales outlook intact - including a forecast that the European car market overall will grow more than 5 percent. In January-June, the group's European sales rose 14 percent in a market up 9.6 percent. The company, based in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, is riding a surge of recent launches including the Megane hatchback, Kadjar SUV and its larger Espace cousin. First-half deliveries by its Renault and Dacia brands beat the market in all major regions. Sales rose 16 percent in Europe and 38 percent in the Africa, Middle East and India sales zone, helped by the recently launched Kwid mini-SUV. Koskas said Renault was unlikely to dampen its outlook in response to Britain's referendum vote when it publishes first-half earnings on July 28. But he added: "We'll have to wait until September to measure the possible Brexit impact on the market." -Reuters