Ampère, turning Renault into a subcontractor for Geely in Europe?

Could the new brand of the Renault group, Ampère, manufacture electric vehicles branded Geely in Europe?

Wednesday, November 15, 2023, is a date that could mark a milestone in French automotive history. In truth, the long press conference held by Luca de Meo did not reveal all the secrets behind the creation of Ampère, this new brand aiming to serve as a development laboratory capable of competing with Tesla and the tech leaders in China in the automotive sector.

This is very ambitious and will require huge investments. Or perhaps all the announcements have not yet been made? The Renault Group has been continuously developing synergies lately: with Aramco in Saudi Arabia on the thermal vehicle hub, and with Geely in Asia where Polestar will be produced in a Renault South Korean factory.

But what about Europe? With the increasingly imminent implementation of a toll at the entry for Chinese cars to curb their invasion, urgent solutions need to be found.

Could Ampère have been created to enable the white-label production of cars from the Geely group, such as Smart, Volvo, Zeekr, Polestar, or Lotus? Industrializing Europe will take years, and time is pressing for Geely. Finding buildable land, obtaining building permits, hiring qualified personnel, etc. It takes years to accomplish, especially if European authorities do not show good will.

As an industrial and financial opportunity, this hypothesis would be very relevant for the Renault group to accelerate and fund its shift towards electric vehicles. Ampère has not revealed all of its strategy, perhaps to avoid disappointment. But the second stage of Luca de Meo’s plan could put Renault back on track and sustainably.

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