Renault to Keep Up EV Spending in France If Politics Permit

Renault SA plans to keep on investing in France’s electric-vehicle industry in the coming years, if the political and social will supports it, Chief Executive Francois Provost said.

The carmaker, 15%-owned by the French state, has dedicated €13 billion ($14.6 billion) to boosting EV production in its home country over the last five years and is prepared to continue that momentum, Provost said Saturday on France Inter radio.

“Over the next five years, if the social and political context in France allows it, we will invest more than €10 billion to continue pushing ahead with electric vehicles and make cars more affordable,” the CEO said.

The political climate in France is becoming increasingly unpredictable with just seven months to go before elections that will bring an end to President Emmanuel Macron’s decade in power. An increasingly acrimonious tug-of-war over the country’s budget in parliament is adding to the strain, as the minority government tries to push through a plan that leans heavily on unpopular spending cuts and taxing large corporations to help rein in a bloated deficit at a testing time for the economy.

Read More: France’s Budget Watchdog Warns Economic Scenario Is ‘Optimistic’

Recent polling has shown April’s election may come down to a second-round runoff between far-right front-runner Marine Le Pen and the far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

The situation has rattled investors, fueling a selloff of French assets and driving up sovereign borrowing costs this week to levels not seen since the height of the euro-area’s debt crisis 15 years ago.

Provost said the market moves are “worrying” for Renault as France accounts for 20% of its business and 40% of its workforce.

“We have really bet on France and we will continue to bet on France,” he said. “So any scenario of instability in France would have a major impact on Renault, a major impact on our employees and a major impact on our suppliers, so yes, I am worried.”

Provost also repeated his calls for the European Union to take action to address imbalances in the region’s automotive trade with China.

“The flow of imports coming from China is currently too rapid and not really under control,” he said. “The answer is not a tariff war, but an agreement between China and Europe that says Chinese carmakers are welcome provided they not only manufacture here, but also use European suppliers and bring technology.”

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