Renault French car registrations down 9.6% in May

, , ) continued to see market share declines in France in May amid falling sales of all new cars, according to latest industry data released Friday.

Meanwhile, Renault shares surged on the Paris Bourse Friday in the wake of presentations by company chairman Carlos Ghosn to analysts and investors on Thursday and Friday. By 1200 GMT, the shares were trading up 4.9% at EUR111.40. A company spokeswoman said Ghosn had confirmed that Renault will achieve its 3% operating margin goal for 2007 and expressed confidence that a four-year recovery plan initiated in February 2006 will produce the desired results. The company is targeting a 6% operating margin by 2009, while boosting sales by 800,000 compared to 2005. A London-based analyst said the steep rise in Renault's share price to a large extent reflected short-covering by investors. He pointed out that sales of light utility vehicles in France had remained buoyant in May, and that Renault - the leading brand in this segment that traditionally offers fatter margins than those of cars - had managed to grow its sales by 6%.

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