On 29 October 2026, Renault Group published its third-quarter results, confirming that the company’s top line remained robust despite a fragmented market. The French group recorded €41.8 billion in revenue for the first nine months of the year, reflecting a 7.1% increase over the same period in 2025 and a 7.6% rise when foreign-exchange effects are removed. This performance underpins the decision to keep the full-year financial guidance unchanged.
Key contributors to the overall figure were the automotive division, which delivered €36.6 billion – a 6.6% uplift year-on-year – and Mobilize Financial Services (MFS), which generated €5.2 billion, up 11.0% from the previous year. The consolidated revenue for Q3 alone reached €11.6 billion, a modest 1.5% improvement on the comparable quarter of 2025 (1.4% on a constant-currency basis). These numbers illustrate the resilience of the group’s diversified business model, where automotive sales and financial services act as complementary pillars.
Financial headline: revenue steadiness and segment breakdown
The automotive arm’s €36.6 billion turnover was supported by a balanced mix of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. While the segment’s overall growth was modest, it was bolstered by a sharp rise in electrified offerings. MFS, which provides leasing, loans and fleet-management solutions, delivered an 11.0% revenue jump, confirming the growing importance of captive financing in the group’s strategy. In the third quarter, MFS contributed €1.8 billion to the total, again up 11.0% on a like-for-like basis, highlighting the scalability of Renault’s financial ecosystem.
Renault’s management emphasized that the operating margin target for 2026 remains around 5.5% of total revenue, with a slight improvement expected in the second half of the year. The outlook assumes a “normal” seasonal pattern, albeit muted by higher raw-material costs and persistent inflation, factors that were already accounted for in the first-half guidance released earlier in the year.
Sales dynamics: brands, electric shift, and inventory
Across the January-September window, the group sold 1.662 million vehicles, a 2.2% dip against 2025. The decline masks divergent performances among the three marques. Renault itself posted a 1.1% volume increase, climbing to the second place on the European podium, while Dacia suffered a 9.7% fall as it re-tools its model line-up for the electric era. Alpine, the sporty sub-brand, surged ahead with a 65.6% rise in deliveries, driven largely by the new A290 model.
In the third quarter, total deliveries fell 6.0% to 497,799 units. However, the European region showed pockets of strength: the Renault brand grew 4.6% in Europe, Dacia’s decline widened to 12.8%, and Alpine maintained a 58.4% gain. The most striking trend was the explosion of electric-vehicle (EV) sales, which rose 84.7% YoY in Q3, lifting the EV share of group sales to 25.8% and pushing the broader “electrified” (EV + hybrid + plug-in hybrid) share to 54.9% of passenger-car transactions.
Private-consumer sales in Europe improved to 64.8% of total group volume, a 4.6-point rise over Q3 2025, underscoring the effectiveness of Renault’s disciplined commercial approach. Meanwhile, the group’s total inventory stood at 532,000 vehicles at the end of September, a level described by management as “healthy” and supportive of a roughly two-month order book in the region.
Strategic outlook: product launch plan and margin target
Looking ahead, Renault Group is advancing a fully electrified product roadmap for the second half of 2026. The lineup includes the new Megane E-Tech electric, the Trafic Van E-Tech electric, a hybrid-powered Duster E-Tech, as well as Dacia’s Sandero hybrid, the refreshed Spring, and the upcoming Striker SUV. These introductions are intended to keep the group’s electrified share on an upward trajectory while preserving price competitiveness.
Chief Financial Officer Duncan Minto highlighted that the free cash-flow generated by the automotive business is expected to hover around €1.0 billion, providing financial flexibility for continued investment. He also reiterated confidence in the 2026 outlook, citing three pillars: a flexible industrial platform with high utilisation, a strong dealer and after-sales network, and the market-leading position of Mobilize Financial Services. The ability to shift quickly toward EV demand, combined with ongoing cost-reduction initiatives, is presented as the engine that will deliver the promised margin and cash-flow targets.
