RENAULT-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world’s leading automotive Alliance, announced that its member companies sold a combined total of 10,608,366 units in the 12 months to December 31, 2017.

Growing demand for SUVs, light commercial vehicles and a rising number of zero-emission pure electric vehicles helped lift unit sales by 6.5 percent in 2017, the first full-year of Mitsubishi Motors’ membership of the Alliance.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, said:

“With more than 10.6 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles sold in 2017, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi has become the number-one automotive group worldwide. This evolution reflects the breadth and depth of our model range, our global market presence and the customer appeal of our vehicle technologies.”

In 2017, the Alliance member companies sold vehicles in nearly 200 countries under ten brands (Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, Dacia, Renault Samsung Motors, Alpine, Lada, Infiniti, Venucia and Datsun).

Groupe Renault’s sales were up 8.5 percent to 3,761,634 units in 2017. It was a record year for Renault, the world’s leading French brand and number-two brand in Europe, and also for Dacia. Renault is seeking continued growth in 2018, buoyed by the development of its international activities and its renewed range, in line with its Drive The Future plan.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. sold 5,816,278 vehicles worldwide, up 4.6 percent, and shared details of Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, the company’s six-year strategic plan. In the US and China in 2017, the company achieved sales growth of 1.9 percent and 12.2 percent respectively. Infiniti sold 246,492 vehicles in 2017, an increase of 7 percent from the previous year.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation sold 1,030,454 vehicles in 2017, up 10 percent from 2016. The increase in volume was led by China, a key market for Mitsubishi Motors’ Drive For Growth plan. Annual sales rose by 56 percent, to 129,160 units. China became Mitsubishi Motors’ largest market thanks to strong demand for the locally produced Outlander.

Performance in the ASEAN region was also strong with an increase of 17 percent to 242,224 units, thanks to the launch of XPANDER – a compact multi-purpose vehicle - in Indonesia. In Japan, sales increased by 7 percent as the marketing of kei-cars resumed. — SG