Paris - French carmaker Renault said Friday that, because of the economic crisis, worldwide sales of its vehicles fell by 4.2 per cent in 2008.

However, because other car producers suffered even greater losses, with the sales of all cars down 4.8 per cent worldwide, Renault's global market share actually rose to
3.6 per cent, the company said in a statement.

Sales of Renault cars outside of Europe increased by 1.5 per cent last year, to 873,798 vehicles, which represented nearly 37 per cent of the company's total sales. (dpa)