AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/15 Report--

Today Renault released its financial statements for 2018. Renault's net income fell 37.8% in 2018 compared with the same period, according to the report, which officials said was due to plummeting diesel sales, exchange rates and withdrawal from the Iranian market.

According to financial statements, Renault's 2018 revenue was $57.42 billion ($67.4 billion), down 2.3% from a year earlier; operating profit was $3.61 billion ($4.07 billion), down 6.3% from a year earlier; and net income was $3.3 billion ($3.72 billion), down 37.8% from a year earlier.

Renault also sent its new chief executive, Thierry Bollore said, to respond, saying 2018 was a challenging year for Renault, a year in which Renault faced both expected difficulties and expected blows, a testament to Renault's resilience.

According to statistics, affected by the Ghosn incident, the relationship between Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance has become increasingly tense. Nissan contributed 1.51 billion euros to Renault in the alliance, down 46% from the same period last year, while Mitsubishi's contribution is less obvious. Renault also said that poor sales of diesel cars in the future will also be bad for Renault's revenue.

Renault also made a conservative estimate of its business target for 2019 despite a decline in sales and profits in 2018. The company expects operating margins to be about 6 per cent in 2019, down from 6.3 per cent in 2018. Demand in the global and European markets is expected to be more stable in 2019 than in 2018, with demand for cars in Russia increasing by at least 3 per cent and in Brazil by 10 per cent.

To this end, Renault has set new financial targets for 2019: first, to increase the group's income (at a fixed exchange rate and operating range); second, to achieve an operating profit margin of about 6.0%; and third, to generate positive free cash flow in the automotive business.

It is understood that Renault will launch nine models by 2022, three of which are pure electric vehicles, all of which are aimed at the Chinese market. Against a backdrop of poor sales, Renault hopes to make a comeback with China's new energy vehicle policy, but only if it has a good reputation at home will it be possible to boost sales.

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