France’s Economics and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire expects the automaker Renault to join the Franco-German battery manufacturing alliance. “We have to bring value production and thus battery production back to France,” Le Maire told BFMTV. One should no longer be dependent on China or South Korea.
The German-French battery alliance is a step in this direction. Now you want Renault to participate.
EU countries want to build battery factories in time for the expected boom in electric cars. Germany and France have a key role in the project. So far, the group of companies includes the Peugeot manufacturer PSA, its German subsidiary Opel and the battery manufacturer Saft in Kaiserslautern. Le Maire also stressed that electric cars have to be produced in France.
A state-guaranteed loan of 5 billion euros for Renault has not yet been signed, the minister said. At the same time, the government of Renault does not require it to commit to not closing any sites. “We want to give Renault the opportunity to adjust its production,” said Le Maire. The automaker must certainly renew itself, otherwise it would not remain competitive. After the scandal surrounding the former CEO Carlos Ghosn, the manufacturer was in turmoil. The corona pandemic and the related slump in sales led to the worsening crisis.
French President Emmanuel Macron plans to present a plan to support the auto industry on Tuesday. According to the newspaper “Le Parisien”, the premium for the purchase of a new car should increase, as well as the state bonus for the purchase of electric cars. (dpa / apa / red)
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