PARIS (Reuters) - French automaker Renault said on Thursday that sales grew by 1.3% in 2024, with a strong fourth quarter driven by new launches helping to offset weak demand earlier in the year.

Sales growth, however, slowed sharply from the 9% rise recorded in 2023, as the global auto sector faced a challenging year with inflation weighing on consumer appetite for new vehicles and surplus production in China flooding the market.

Top European car maker Volkswagen said on Tuesday its sales fell 2.3% last year as it struggled to cut costs at home and fight a price war in China, its biggest market.

Renault, which mainly sells in Europe, said it sold 2.26 million vehicles, with a growing share made up of hybrids and electric vehicles that helped it lift sales by 6.1% in the fourth quarter.

Overall, 9% of the group's European sales were electric vehicles, rising to 12% in the fourth quarter.

For the Renault brand, which accounts for more than two-thirds of group sales, electric vehicles made up 16% of European volumes in the fourth quarter, Fabrice Cambolive, CEO of the Renault brand told reporters.

Almost 20% of Renault's sales this year will need to be electric vehicles to comply with tough new European targets on carbon emissions.

The company reports 2024 financial results on Feb. 20.