The relocation debate is also raging in the auto industry. “The industrial challenge for France is to build not only high-end vehicles but also small electric vehicles like the (Peugeot) e-208 on our territory,” Le Maire told RMC. “I want (Stellantis boss) Carlos Tavares to take up the gauntlet and take on this challenge. We provide aid, we help the industry, we try to promote the purchase of electric vehicles in the territory. I hope that industrialists will also show, quite simply, a little economic patriotism, “continued the minister.
The government displays the relocation of automobile production as one of its priorities, with a target of 2 million vehicles produced in France by 2030. Carlos Tavares had however closed the door on Wednesday morning, in an interview published in Le Figaro . “The economic equation of forcibly relocating this project would not be in the best interests of the company or the country. Besides, are we asking Elon Musk or BYD to make B-segment (compact) cars in France when we’re trying to lure them there? underlined the boss of Stellantis.
Peugeot and Citroën, two of the French brands of the Franco-Italian-American group, have massively relocated their production in recent decades. The group produced 678,400 cars in France in 2022, compared to more than a million before the pandemic. Stellantis has certainly decided to invest in its French factories and will produce 12 electric models there, rather mid-range SUVs. But the small 208, number one in its segment in Europe with nearly 50,000 units sold in 2022, will soon be manufactured at the factory in Zaragoza, Spain. And the future small electric model of Citroën will be assembled in Slovakia.
Toyota, however, successfully manufactures the small hybrid Yaris in the north of France, while Renault will start production of the electric R5 there in 2024. Carlos Tavares mentions the differences in production costs between European countries but also the new competition from Chinese electrics. The manufacturer, which is posting record results, aims to maintain its double-digit margin. “We will read later in the results who was right in the context of Chinese competition,” commented Mr. Tavares. I have very serious doubts that very compact vehicles can be produced very profitably in our country. »