Paris, Apr 25 (IANS): France's second largest carmaker Renault has said its revenue fell by 11.8 percent to 8.26 billion euros ($10.75 billion) during the first quarter amid persistent economic downturn in the European bloc.

In a statement issued by Renault Wednesday, the company said it sold 608,455 vehicles in the first three months of 2013, down by 4.7 percent for the same period last year as "in Europe, the market was tougher than expected", where the group reported 10-percent fall in its sales.

As to the automotive division, it contributed negatively to the group total revenue with 7.73 billion euros, down 12.6 percent, reported Xinhua.

"Registrations and revenues fell. However, the group strengthened its positions on its main markets and continued to expand internationally, buoyed by the success of new products," the French auto maker said in its quarterly report.

It also noted gaining market share in four of its five top markets: France, Russia, Germany and Argentina by up to 1.4 points percentage.

For 2013, Renault expects "higher registrations, positive automotive operating margin and positive automotive operational free cash flow, provided European and French markets do not worsen more than expected".

Due to an uncertain economic climate, the group forecast the auto market would contract by 5 percent in Europe and the global market to grow by 3 percent.