French carmaker Renault pledged to deliver a 44% sales increase by 2022 as it expands its car lineup for emerging markets and extends its low-cost edge into hybrid and electric cars.

Renault is expected to grow faster than Nissan, according to the mid-term plan unveiled on Friday, as it chases its alliance partner's lead in China and benefits from recent investments in Iran, India and a rebounding Russian market.

The plan calls for Renault to increase sales to 5 million vehicles in 2022 from 3.47 million last year, while also pursuing a 7% operating margin and €70 billion ($82 billion) in revenue, goals that were both announced in February.

Renault pledged on Friday that its margin would stay above 5% over the intervening year, as it pursues €4.2 billion in cumulative productivity gains and invests €18 billion in research and development.

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance last month announced a sales goal of 14 million vehicles for 2022, to which the two Japanese carmakers would contribute a 9 million deliveries - an increase of about 37% on their combined total last year.