The new government in France is considering reviving state aid for local automakers after Renault asked for help.
According to the Financial Times, industry minister Arnaud Montebourg said: “We are studying this idea. This proposal, and the automobile sector, is undergoing a special examination here at the ministry.”
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The report said top Renault executive Carlos Tavares had raised the issue, citing shrinking car sales in Europe this year, particularly in France.
“What I would wish is for support for the French market and the European market,” he told the FT. “All kinds of measures of support that would boost demand are good to take.”
The report said Tavares seemed to favour reintroducing scrappage schemes, deployed by France and many other countries after the financial crisis in 2008, saying that they had “not sufficiently modernised” the existing car fleet on the roads.
The paper noted that France had helped Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroën with EUR6bn in low interest loans in 2009, after the global financial crisis hit sales, and also ran a scrappage and incentive schemes to boost car sales for two years from the end of 2008, which cost the state EUR2.2bn.
Montebourg said it too early to say what measures could be adopted.
