PARIS, April 26 (Reuters) – Renault Group discussed this week with Li Auto and Xiaomi Technology to explore electric and intelligent vehicle technologies together, said the diamond group’s director of Purchasing and Partnerships in a message posted on Friday on Linkedin, opening the door to potential technological collaborations with the two Chinese groups.
At the Beijing Motor Show, “our Managing Director Luca de Meo engaged in key conversations with industry leaders, including our partners Geely and Dongfeng, strategic suppliers but also with new players such as the founders of Li Auto and Xiaomi Technology,” said François Provost in his post.
“Together, they explored disruptive advances in electric and intelligent vehicle technologies,” he added without further details on the content of the discussions.
Luca de Meo spent a week in China to promote the action plans of his new entity dedicated to electricity and software Ampere, continued François Provost.
Relations between Europe and China, its largest economic partner, have recently hardened, notably with the opening of an investigation by the European Commission to determine whether the boom in sales of Chinese electric vehicles on the continent is explained by anti-competitive subsidies.
Beijing disputes this and accuses Europe of protectionism.
In a “letter to Europeans” dated March, Luca de Meo, also president of the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (Acea), said Europe faced a complicated equation, having to both protect its market and initially adopt a defensive approach, but also learn from Chinese manufacturers who are a generation ahead in electric cars, software and the speed of development of new models.
“The relationship with China will have to be managed,” he said. “Closing the door completely to them would be the worst response.”
Since his arrival at the head of Renault, Luca de Meo has multiplied industrial and technological partnerships in order to stay in the race for electrification, the revolution represented by the release of diesel and gasoline engines and the multiplication of on-board software requiring great agility and significant investments.
Beyond its historic alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi, Renault has joined forces with Geely in thermal and hybrid engines, with Google and Qualcomm in the intelligent cockpit and with Volvo and CMA CGM in new generation electric vans, in order to reduce development costs and times.
It is also in discussions with Volkswagen to share the program for its future small electric Twingo. (Report by Gilles Guillaume, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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