Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan, has announced that the Franco-Japanese alliance is aiming for sales of 10 million by 2016.
’10 million’ has become the new holy grail for most major automakers, with industry top dogs Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen all shooting for the sales mark. With sales exceeding 9 million apiece, all three are very close to achieving that lofty goal.
Together, Renault and Nissan sold 8.1 million vehicles in 2012. Nissan Motors, including its Infiniti premium brand, sold 4,940,000 units, while Renault and its Dacia budget brand moved 2,550,000 cars.
With the European economy still in turmoil, analysts predict that the bulk of the 10 million cars will come from Nissan. Sales in emerging markets, to which Dacia and Nissan’s upcoming low-cost Datsun brand are geared, will account for most of the sales gain. The alliance’s planned takeover of Russia’s AvtoVAZ, which sold 607,000 vehicles last year, will also play a key role.