Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance Tops Global Sales Again

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance sold 10.76 million cars and light trucks in 2018, up 1.4% from 2017, to remain the top-selling automotive group, according to company reports.

Volkswagen Group was second with global light vehicle sales of 10.60 million units. Toyota, including the company’s Daihatsu minicar affiliate, sold 10.39 million cars and light trucks.

The three-way alliance’s 2018 tally was led by Nissan with sales of 5.65 million vehicles, down 2.8% from 2017. Renault’s deliveries climbed 3.2% to 3.88 million units, and MMC registrations jumped 18% to 1.22 million cars and trucks.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi grabbed the global lead in 2017 with sales of 10.61 million vehicles. This surpassed VW and Toyota’s volumes of 10.53 million and 10.2 million units, respectively.

The global new-car market fell slightly last year to 94.79 million units from 95.30 million in 2017. The dropoff was the market’s first full-year decline since 2009, according to LMC Automotive.