Renault reported a 7.6% rise in sales on Thursday, still fueled by sales of its latest, higher-margin new models, but held back by a heavier currency effect, without which growth would have been 13.8%.

Over the last three months, the diamond-shaped group posted sales of 10.507 billion euros, whereas analysts were expecting 10.458 billion, according to the median of a consensus provided by Renault.

The devaluation of the Turkish lira and Argentine peso had a negative impact of 6.3 points, while the price effect remained solid at 7.5 points.

Worldwide sales volumes rose by 6.1% to 511,000 vehicles. This slowdown compared with the first half was due to strong destocking.

The French automaker, which is in the midst of a major reorganization with the creation of a dedicated electric vehicle entity, Ampère, also confirmed its 2023 targets, while now specifying that it was aiming for the upper end of its operating margin forecast range of 7% to 8%. (Gilles Guillaume reports, with Stéphanie Hamel, edited by Blandine Hénault)