HIGHER MARKET SHARE FOR RENAULT SA

RENAULT SAYS: Renault South Africa achieved a market share of 2% in the passenger car segment reflecting a 0.6% increase compared to April 2008.

With new car sales for April 2009 decreasing by 37.5% compared to April 2008 together with NAAMSA’s statement that the past month saw the largest year-on-year monthly decline in new car sales in 24 years, this bodes well for Renault SA.

Since the beginning of 2009, the French marque has steadily gained market share with April‘s figure reflecting the best market share earned in the four months to date. Renault SA’s solid performance came in spite of the market’s downward trend amplification during April.

Despite positive movement by the Rand which has reached its highest level against the Euro since
February 2008 - and a further 1% reduction in the interest rate, access to credit continues to restrain the market. In addition, the majority of manufacturers have implemented heavy price increases over the past two months while reduced trading days resulting from four public holidays have also contributed to the lowest sales recorded during April over the past seven years.

While sales of new vehicles are expected to remain under pressure in the short- to medium-term, Renault SA is optimistic of a revival in consumer expenditure. This would come as a result of lower interest rates which, together with government spending, would serve to lend support to the domestic market during the second half of the year.