The CGT was alarmed this Thursday by a “dismantling” of Renault and appealed to the state shareholder, after press reports that specified the possible traces of a split in the activities of the car manufacturer between thermal and electric motors.
According to The worldTaking up and complementing information from the Reuters agency, the Chinese automobile group Geely and the Saudi oil giant Aramco are fighting to enter the capital of a company, called “Horse”, which will include activities of thermal and hybrid engines (gasoline). -electricity) of Renault.
The latter would continue to be a “reference” shareholder but a minority in its historical activity.
On the other hand, it would control the entity, called “Ampère”, which oversees the production of electric drive vehicles, which promised to develop strongly in Europe, after the 27 EU member states approved a ban on new cars at the end of June. heat in 2035 in the name of the fight against global warming.
A split already made in Ford
Other manufacturers, such as Ford, have undertaken these types of strategic maneuvers, while the transition to electric requires very large investments and the valuation of traditional car groups pales in comparison with that of new competitors specializing in zero-emission cars, like the American Tesla.
Geely already controls the Swedish Volvo and in May it announced its entry into the capital of the South Korean subsidiary of Renault up to 34%. For its part, Aramco is taking full advantage of the oil crisis and made a profit of almost $88 billion in the first half of 2022.
“This strategy is disastrous, both in terms of research and development and at the industrial level, not only for Renault but for the entire automotive industry in France,” the CGT warned Thursday.
The union “opposes the dismantling of the company. The Renault Group must remain a coherent company that occupies all the trades of a car manufacturer, whether thermal, hybrid and electric,” it advocated in a press release.
Although the French state owns 15% of Renault, the CGT called on the government to “end the abandonment of its industry and firmly oppose any loss of autonomy and independence from the manufacturer.”
Contacted by AFP, Renault management declined to speak on Thursday. The general director Luca de Meo said in May that this dossier of separation of its thermal and electrical activities, “in order to strengthen efficiency and operational performance”, was progressing “very well”.
Source: BFM TV
