Renault boss warns that development must not be “abandoned”
(Paris) If sales of electric cars are stagnating in Europe, we must “not give up” on the development of this technology, warned Renault CEO Luca de Meo on Thursday.
“We are very convinced that electric will be a dominant technology in Europe, and that it is the best if we want to reduce the impact of transport,” Mr. de Meo stressed during an interview with journalists.
Renault boss fears there was a “misunderstanding” when he told the newspaper on Monday The echoes that the goal of 100% electric vehicle sales by 2035 was “complicated.”
As sales of electric vehicles have slowed, particularly in Germany, voices are being raised within the European right to call for an extension of this deadline for the EU.
Manufacturers also risk heavy fines from 2025 if they do not sell enough electric cars.
To meet CO emissions standards2the car industry will have to push sales of electric vehicles, or else reduce its production of 2.5 million thermal cars in Europe, Mr. de Meo calculated.
Renault “starts with the idea” of respecting these standards and avoiding fines, but at the industry level “the trend we see is not good, because there is not a homogeneous approach at the European level,” he stressed.
“It will be necessary to take stock, as in all strategies, and to correct, but without losing the objective of achieving it,” noted the man who is also president of ACEA, the European lobby of automobile manufacturers.
“No one can blame the industry [automobile] “for not having done the job,” he said. It is now up to the EU and the states to continue work on charging infrastructure, or by, for example, strengthening the electrification targets for company fleets, he suggested.
The Renault group announced Wednesday evening a record profitability of its activities in the first half thanks to savings and vehicles sold at higher prices, while most car manufacturers are slowed by the economic context. And the Diamond group plans to accelerate in the second half with the launch of new models such as the R5 and the electric Scenic.
But investors did not welcome this performance, and the share price, which had risen sharply since the start of the year, lost nearly 9.82% at 5 p.m. on the Paris Stock Exchange, to 42.88 euros.
“Our results stand out from the crowd [du secteur automobile]”It's a reflection of all the work that has been done to clean up the company, lower the break-even point, simplify prices,” explained Renault's financial director, Thierry Piéton. But “we're caught in a sort of club” of manufacturers, he noted.
“It's symbolic, but I'm counting on the fact that the market will come back to Renault, because we continue to perform,” said Mr. de Meo.
