London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Aug 05, 2025

Renault CEO questions wisdom of electric vehicle price cuts

Renault CEO questions wisdom of electric vehicle price cuts

Renault CEO Luca de Meo on Thursday questioned the wisdom of price cuts rivals have been implementing in a bid to bolster market share for their electric vehicle fleets.

Renault CEO Luca de Meo on Thursday questioned the wisdom of price cuts rivals have been implementing in a bid to bolster market share for their electric vehicle fleets.

“We’ve seen competitors moving prices up and down, etc., etc. this is their decision. But I don’t think it’s a very healthy practice in the long term,” he told CNBC.

“As electric cars are ramping up in Europe, we need to have a healthy business, and so, in the case of Renault, the last thing I’m going to do is to compromise on the margins, you know, of electric cars.”

De Meo’s comments follow a string of aggressive price drops announced by automakers Tesla and Ford amid pressure to remain competitive in a burgeoning EV market.

Tesla threw down the gauntlet with its mid-January announcement of price reductions for U.S.-marketed models across the board and for its Model 3 and Model Y within Europe. Ford followed on Jan. 30 with price trims for its electric Mustang Mach-E crossover.

However, De Meo signaled that sales price volatility could erode consumer confidence in EV products.

“Our priority will be to defend the value for the customer,” he said. “Because those kinds of swings are kind of value destroying for the customer, think about residual value, etc.”

Renault’s long-term allies are joining the French automaker’s EV push, with Nissan earlier this month pledging to buy a stake of up to 15% in Renault’s electric unit Ampere as part of a broader overhaul of the companies’ 24-year union. Under the reshaped, previously lopsided alliance, Renault will reduce its shareholdings in Nissan from roughly 43% to 15%.

“My job is to make the Ampere case so interesting for them [Nissan and junior alliance partner Mitsubishi] that they will decide in their capital allocation meetings to put money there and not in an alternative project,” he told CNBC, adding that the investment was not a condition of the restructure.

Earlier on Thursday, Renault reported that its group operating margin doubled to 5.6% in 2022 from 2.8% a year prior, even as net income swung to a 700 million euro ($748 million) loss. It came after the company in May wrote off a 2.3 billion euro impairment linked to exiting its Russian positions.

Renault posted record cash flow of 2.1 billion euros last year, compared with its guidance of above 1.5 billion euros. Net income from continuing operations increased to 1.6 billion euros, from 549 million euros in 2021, while group revenues inched up to 46.4 billion euros in 2022, from 41.7 billion euros a year prior.

Renault shares were largely steady at 1 p.m. London time, down modestly in intraday trade at 42.96 euros.


Supply chain issues


De Meo said he sees ongoing longevity in the supply and logistical obstacles that have plagued automakers since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially linked to the yearslong global shortage of semiconductor chips.

“We think that, on the semiconductors, [it] is going to continue to be pretty much of a challenge for another couple of years, especially on the kind of semiconductors that we use in the automotive industry,” De Meo told CNBC, estimating that logistical and component hurdles led Renault to underproduce by 300,000 cars in 2022.

He forecast similar losses in 2023.

“So it’s going to stay there. But I think we are a little bit more prepared. We know how to find the parts and how to organize production to keep doing it. But we have to recognize that this is not going to be, again, a normal year,” De Meo added.

Despite this outlook and a “still challenging environment,” Renault targets a group operating margin at or above 6% in 2022, along with operational free cash flow at or above 2 billion euros.

It also put forward a dividend of 25 euro cents per share for fiscal 2022 — marking the company’s first payout proposal in four years, according to Reuters — due to be paid in May, if approved during the company’s annual general meeting in the same month.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
×