French automaker Renault (EPA:RENA) says car sales fell 30% in the first half of 2022 after car sales in Russia, one of the top Western carmakers, suffered a major drop in business in Ukraine, fell in the first half of 2022. War .

Renault, a western car maker with the largest exposure in the Russian market, said its global sales fell 29.7% from a year ago to more than a million cars. With the exception of the events of Avtovaz and Renault Russia, sales volume fell 12% annually. Renault shares fell 2.3% at the start of the session.

Russia was the second largest market in Renault before the war, accounting for 15% of profits, according to JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM). The group, which produces popular brands such as Dacia Duster and Renault Clio, stopped operating in the country earlier this year and announced it would sell Renault Russia at 67.7% to Avtovaz. In May, Renault announced that it would sell Avtovaz, a Russian car manufacturer and owner of the Lada brand, to a Russian science company, for only one ruble with the option to buy for six years.

Aside from the impact of his departure from Russia, the French team pointed to problems with the semiconductor, although he gave optimism and explosive momentum for the second half of the year, speaking similarly to his politics. Volkswagen (ETR: VOWG_p).

Fabrice Cambolive, Renault brand general manager, said the brand is seeing some improvement in terms of availability and expects that the level of semiconductor production will be significantly higher in the second half of 2022 compared to the first. semester.