BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen is considering a cooperation with Renault to develop and produce its 20,000-euro electric car, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Friday, citing sources close to the matter.
The German automaker is interested in cooperation around a platform for the car that it hopes will make battery-powered vehicles affordable to the general public, Handelsblatt reported.
Discussions with Renault are still at a very early stage and may not be successful, the sources said.
Renault, through a spokesperson, refused to comment on the Handelsblatt article.
This spokesperson nevertheless declared that cooperation was necessary to be competitive in the low-cost electric vehicle segment.
“We are in the process of having various discussions but nothing has been finalized,” the spokesperson said.
The objective of the two partners would be an annual production of 200,000 to 250,000 vehicles, according to Handelsblatt.
(Reporting by Nette Noestlinger, Gilles Guillaume and Kate Entringer; written by Miranda Murray, French version Augustin Turpin)
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