PARIS, Jan 16, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - French car manufacturer Renault said Thursday that its sales volumes edged higher in 2024, with strong growth in hybrid vehicles.

Renault Group, which also owns the budget Dacia and sporty Alpine brands, sold nearly 2.26 million vehicles worldwide last year, a 1.3 percent increase over the previous year.

A 45 percent jump in hybrid vehicles to just over a quarter of total sales worldwide helped power the overall growth.

Sales of electric vehicles accounted for nine percent overall, but the figure was higher at the end of 2024 as the carmaker brought new models onto the market including the Renault 5 E-Tech, inspired by a popular model from the 1980s.

Renault is looking to the addition of a longer range version of the Renault 5 E-Tech plus a larger Renault 4 E-Tech to further increase sales of electric vehicles this year.

Dacia's compact Sandero remained a top-seller among consumers in 2024 and the company is looking to the launch of a new SUV, the Bigster, for growth in 2025.