De Meo’s (Renault) somersaults on electric cars
After attacking the Commission for its approach to sustainable mobility, Luca de Meo now says he wants to bring Renault 100% electric by 2030. Here are the thoughts and words of the CEO of the French company
“We are trying to ensure that the Renault brand can be 100 percent electric by 2030.” Words by Luca de Meo, CEO of the French car manufacturer Renault, pronounced during a Quattroruote event in Milan. “We have a plan B,” he points out, “with the Dacia and other cars internationally, on which we will keep the hybrid. But the rules are set and in Europe we will be ready to observe them."
THE (HARDEST) WORDS OF LUCA DE MEO IN LOCOROTONDO
The same rules – referring to the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles in the European Union from 2035 – that de Meo himself had criticized just a couple of months ago. In August, in the more informal context of Locorotondo, in Puglia, he criticized the European Commission for its definition of sustainable mobility, limited to electric while instead – according to de Meo – it should pay more attention to hybrid technologies and e-fuels: also called electrofuels, they are synthetic fuels with neutral emissions capable of circulating in traditional engines.
According to the CEO of Renault, competing with China on electric cars "is like playing eleven against fifteen": "the prices [selling, ed. ] are lower because coal is still used, there are no pollution limits and the cost of labor is lower."
THE COMMISSION INVESTIGATION INTO CHINESE ELECTRIC CARS
Commission data says that Chinese electric cars are on average 20 percent cheaper than European ones. In September, President Ursula von der Leyen announced an anti-subsidy investigation into electric cars from China which could lead to the imposition of duties if evidence of violations of state aid rules emerges.
WHAT DE MEO THINKS
Despite greater moderation, Luca de Meo remains against the 2035 deadline for the internal combustion engine (as Renault had pushed for a postponement to 2040) and in favor of the principle of technological neutrality, i.e. openness to all technologies available for decarbonisation: "but in this case Europe leads us to just one technology", he says, that is, battery electric.
“I remain convinced,” de Meo declared to Quattroruote , “that the regulator must tell us where it wants to go, but not how to get there”: in other words, yes to emissions targets, no to obligations on decarbonisation technologies. “The timescales will be very, very tight, but once the rules are made my job is not to contest them, but to put the company in a position to respect them”.
RENAULT'S RESULTS
In the third quarter of 2023, Renault's revenues grew by 7.6 percent, to 10.5 billion euros, thanks to sales of higher-end, more expensive models; at the same time, currency devaluations in Turkey and Argentina negatively affected growth levels.
Globally, Renault's sales volume increased by 6.1 percent, a slower growth rate than the 13 percent recorded in the first half of the year.
The company is going through a period of major restructuring of its business which also includes the spin-off of Ampere, the division dedicated to electric vehicles, and its listing as a separate entity.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/luca-de-meo-renault-elettrico-2030/ on Sun, 22 Oct 2023 05:06:33 +0000.