French automaker Renault intends to invest more than €10bn ($11.20bn) in electric vehicles (EVs) and more affordable vehicles in France over the next five years, provided the social and political context allows it.
As reported by Bloomberg, chief executive François Provost made the remarks on France Inter radio on Saturday (03 Oct 26).
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Provost said the carmaker, which is 15% owned by the French state, had committed €13bn over the past five years to increasing EV production in its home market.
He added that Renault was prepared to maintain that momentum.
“Over the next five years, if the social and political context in France allows it, we will invest more than €10bn to continue pushing ahead with EVs and make cars more affordable,” he was quoted as saying.
According to the report, the comments come as France’s political climate becomes less predictable. Elections in France are seven months away.
The minority government is also in a parliamentary dispute over a budget that relies heavily on spending cuts and higher taxes on large corporations to reduce the deficit.
French assets have been sold off, and sovereign borrowing costs rose this week to levels not seen since the height of the euro-area debt crisis 15 years ago.
Provost described the market moves as “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. 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,” he said.
Provost also repeated his call for European Union action on imbalances in automotive trade with China.
In a separate development, Renault and Chinese partner Geely pledged a further 2bn reais ($388.7m) to their Brazilian joint venture last month. It lifts total committed investment in the country to 5.8bn reais through 2027.
