PARIS, Jan 17 Reuters The Renault group on Tuesday said sales at its flagship brand fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2022 to 1,466,729 units excluding Russia, a 9.4 decline from 2021.

The French carmaker, which was hit harder than most rivals by the COVID19 crisis and supply chain snags due to chip shortages, is in the middle of a turnaround in a drive to boost profits.

The group is betting on highermargin and electric cars to drive growth. It said that in 2022 the Renault brand, which accounts for twothirds of group sales, was the third European brand for electrified vehicle sales behind Toyota and Tesla with 228,000 units sold, an increase of 12 from 2021.

Its global market share was 4, shrinking 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier. Out the 10 top markets, the Renault brand scored an increase in sales in only two Turkey and Colombia.

Sales fell 15 in its top market France, were stable in number 2 market Brazil and fell 25 in the third most important market, Germany. Including Russia, global sales declined by 15.

Fabrice Cambolive, Chief Operating Officer of the Renault brand, said he was optimistic things would improve this year as the company has a better portfolio and higher stocks.

However, he acknowledged that global price cuts announced recently by Tesla were an issue that Renault like rivals would have to contend with.

It39;s a move that is challenging everybody, he told reporters on a conference call.

In November, the Renault group…