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By Bloomberg

Renault SA delivered 3.2 percent more vehicles last year as sales of budget cars in Europe offset falling demand in Russia and Argentina.

Global sales rose to 2.71 million cars and light commercial vehicles from 2.63 million a year earlier, the Boulogne- Billancourt, France-based company said today in a statement. Deliveries of no-frills vehicles, including Europe’s Dacia brand, jumped 5.3 percent to 1.14 million vehicles.

Renault, Europe’s third-largest carmaker, relied on demand for low-cost models like the Sandero hatchback and Duster sport- utility vehicle as a push into emerging markets has fallen flat because of economic woes in Russia and Latin America.

The budget Dacia brand and the new Renault Captur compact SUV helped it tap into a gradual recovery in its home region, where demand hit a two-decade low in 2013. Sales in Europe accounted for 54 percent of the company’s sales, up from 50 percent a year ago.

Even with overall demand for new vehicles “uncertain,” Renault is predicting its sales will rise again this year, underpinned by “an accelerated product plan” with five new models slated to hit showrooms, Chief Performance Officer Jerome Stoll said in the statement.

‘Tough Market’

The company forecast industrywide car sales this year to rise 1 percent to 2 percent in Europe and 2 percent globally. The company’s home region propelled sales growth last year, with gains of 42 percent in the U.K., 30 percent in Spain and 29 percent in Italy.

“Renault has done a good job in a tough market,” said Arndt Ellinghorst, a London-based analyst at Evercore ISI. “They’ve managed to increase sales overall without giving up on pricing, which is what investors are looking at. 2015 has to be better than 2014.”

The French manufacturer’s shares rose as much as 1.3 percent and were up 0.3 percent at 10:35 a.m. in Paris. Renault has fallen 7.2 percent over the last 12 months, valuing the company at 18.7 billion euros ($21.7 billion).

Deliveries in Russia, Renault’s third-biggest market, fell 7.4 percent to 194,500 vehicles, as a plunge in oil prices and a drop in the value of the ruble pushed Russia to the brink of a recession. Renault and its alliance partner Nissan Motor Co. together control OAO AvtoVAZ, the maker of Lada models and the country’s largest auto producer.

The French manufacturer’s deliveries in Argentina plunged 40 percent to 85,000 vehicles with consumer spending hobbled by currency struggles. Sales in Brazil, Renault’s second-biggest market, edged up by 0.3 percent to 237,000 cars. Economic growth there is expected to slow to its slowest rate since 2009.