Electrification offered a brighter subplot. Battery-electric and hybrid vehicles reached 52% of European sales, up 8.2 percentage points, with pure EV volumes surging 47.6%. The Renault brand ranked second in European retail across both EVs and hybrids, while Dacia's Sandero remained the continent's best-selling passenger car. Alpine sales jumped 69%.
Management reaffirmed full-year guidance for a group operating margin around 5.5% and automotive free cash flow of roughly €1 billion, while flagging continued mitigation efforts against Middle East-related raw material, energy, and logistics cost pressures. The order book sits at 2.1 months of forward sales and inventories at 546,000 units, levels the company says are appropriate for a smooth second half.
The share-price reaction underscores a simple market verdict: a profit surge powered by tax accounting and a low base does not offset a declining core margin and uncertain cash conversion. The question now is whether the electrification momentum and cost discipline can lift the automotive margin back above 3% before the full-year guidance window closes.
Sources: Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3 · Source 4 · Source 5 · Source 6
