By Dominique Patton

PARIS (Reuters) -French automaker Renault said on Thursday its first-half sales volume rose 1.9% from the year-ago period on strong performance for its hybrids in Europe, its key region.

The company sold 1,154,700 vehicles globally compared to 1,133,478 units last year, with almost three-quarters of that volume going to Europe.

It said sales in Europe grew 6.7%, outpacing market growth of 5.5%, with electrified vehicles, including fully electric and hybrids, accounting for 29.6% of the group’s sales in the region, up 4.3 points from 2023.

Demand for electric vehicles has slowed sharply in Europe, with data from the region’s trade body showing on Thursday that sales only rose 1.3% in the first half.

But automakers are seeing strong demand for more affordable and more convenient hybrids and are rolling out additional models to meet demand.

Renault returned to growth last year after four consecutive years of declining unit sales, and is hoping that 10 new launches this year will keep the momentum.

The first-half number suggests growth in the second quarter slowed slightly after a 2.6% rise in the prior three months.

That was likely due to a drop in demand in international markets, including South Korea, India and Argentina, Fabrice Cambolive, Renault brand CEO, told reporters.

But Europe was a bright spot as demand for its brand hybrids grew 45%, outpacing market growth of 21% in the period and boosting its market share.

Sales of hybrids accounted for 34.6% of the brand’s volumes, up from 25% a year ago, said Cambolive. “The idea was really to have a growth in Europe that was based on hybrids in the first half,” he said.

The company has launched new models that are only offered in hybrid versions and will continue with this approach, Cambolive added. “There is a very strong demand for this kind of engine.”

In Europe, fully electric vehicle sales were stable at 11.6% of the total mix, but are expected to increase in the second half with the recent launch of Scenic EV and the new R5 in October.

Cambolive said electrified vehicles, including both fully electric and hybrids, would surpass 50% of sales in the second half.

(Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Kim Coghill and Arun Koyyur)

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