The boss of Renault is calling for the creation of an “Airbus of the car” to compete with Chinese manufacturers, but also Tesla, on electric cars. Here are the details of this statement.
In an interview with the newspaper The worldLuca de Meo, general manager of Renault, launched a call for the creation of a “ Airbus car ” in Europe. The interview was very rich, he discussed European competitiveness in the face of Chinese industry, but also his desire to see the arrival of kei cars Japanese in Europe.
According to him, it is necessary to organize collectively to compete with Tesla, which is currently benefiting from the proactive industrial policy of the United States and the advantages offered by China.
The Renault manager stressed that Europe had the skills and resources necessary to create a European electric car champion. He cited the example of Airbus, which was created in the 1970s to compete with American aircraft manufacturers. According to him, the European automobile industry must take inspiration from this model to create a “ Airbus car “.
Tesla dominates the European electric car market
In 2023, Tesla saw its sales increase by more than 89% in Europe to now exceed the volumes of brands like Volvo and Seat.
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This year, the Tesla Model Y achieved a quadruple feat by becoming the best-selling electric vehicle of all time on a continent, the first premium vehicle, the first premium vehicle and the first non-European model to hold the top spot .
Traditional automakers are struggling to keep up. According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), sales of electric cars in Europe increased by 37% in 2023, but they still only represent 14.6% of the total market.
Faced with this situation, Luca de Meo therefore calls for the creation of a European consortium to develop a common electric car platform, which could be used by all European automobile manufacturers. He also suggested the creation of a “ Airbus battery » to develop competitive battery technology in Europe. Luca de Meo therefore wants Europe to organize itself to give European car manufacturers the means to compete with Tesla.