Renault is now Europe's second biggest car brand thanks to one small supermini

Auto Express

5 days ago

Renault will stay resolute in its commitment to full-hybrid and electric cars, largely dismissing the usefulness of plug-in hybrids as it transitions to a fully electric range. Renault has just been crowned number two car manufacturer in Europe – behind Volkswagen but now ahead of Toyota – in the first half of 2025. Advertisement - Article continues below
When asked whether the firm had any plans to chase down its German rival, Renault's global sales and operations director, Ivan Segal, told Auto Express he would 'stick to the plan' by offering buyers 'the right powertrain' – rather than muddying the waters with too much choice.
Renault sold almost 395,000 cars in Europe in the first half of 2025, 41 per cent of which were hybrids made up of Clio, Captur, Symbioz, Austral and Rafale. A further 16 per cent were EVs (up 57 per cent on 2024) – fuelled mainly by the launch of the new Renault 5. The firm hopes to further lower its 94.2g/km average emissions per vehicle going forward – a figure that's already down almost 12 per cent year-on-year.
Auto Express can help you find your next car, whether its hybrid, plug-in hybrid or a full EV – we've got thousands available via our Find a Car service .
'[Renault's] strategy is a good one,' Segal insisted. 'Full hybrid on one side, and the EV on the other. We don't know the speed at which they'll grow, but we know this is where it will grow. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below
'Maybe with EV, the expectation was to have a much faster growth, but the fact that we are balanced with the line-up, for us it is a kind of sustainable growth for the future,' he told us. 'We know that regulation can change, but we believe that we've got the right powertrain, the right range, to be stable and balanced depending on what will be decided, or the evolution of demand'.
Talking about plug-in hybrids, Segal said: 'We see this market is not growing at the speed of the full-hybrid market in Europe. It depends on the regulation; in some markets PHEV is pushed by the regulation, but less and less.
'So we continue to think that full hybrid is the right solution for customers coming from diesel, not willing to go directly to EV and trying to find the right balance between these two worlds. We believe full hybrid is globally simple for our customer,' he said.
It means that alongside the hybrid models listed above, the firm's flagship Rafale SUV is likely to remain Renault's only plug-in hybrid offering: 'For some specific needs usage with a huge number of kilometres, we believe that PHEV can be a good solution in terms of consumption,' Segal told us. 'But globally, we stick to our plan. Two legs: full hybrid on one side, EV on the other'.
Configure your perfect Renault 5 through our Find a Car service now. Alternatively, check out the best deals out there on a new Renault 5 from stock or top prices on used Renault 5 models...
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