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Renault saw worldwide group sales fall for the third year in a row in 2021.

The French carmaker released the figures on Monday (January 17).

It said sales of passenger cars and light vehicles fell 4.5% to just under 2.7 million units.

Sales of the Renault brand itself were down just over 5%.

It laid the blame largely on the global shortage of semiconductors, which deprived the group of the production of 500,000 vehicles last year.

However, customers were still drawn to the low cost Dacia brand and the high-end Alpine sport vehicles - with buys of both up over the year.

Renault said it had pursued a sales policy which started in the third quarter of 2020.

That, Renault said, had led to an increase in the share of its sales in the most profitable channels.

The carmaker also announced the share of sales in its five main European countries had risen 6 points compared to pre-health crisis levels.

The update comes just days after Renault announced a more ambitious approach to electric vehicle production for its core brand.

It aims to sell 100% electric cars in Europe by 2030.