Volkswagen, Renault and the Italian-French company Stellantis are looking for a cooperation previously thought impossible to make cheaper electric cars under the pressure of competition.
The Chinese the ability of car manufacturers and the American Tesla to make electric cars cheaply has caused European car manufacturers to look for forms of cooperation when the current means are no longer sufficient, the news agency Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
“It is fully understood that in the future those companies that cannot cope with the competition coming from China will be in trouble,” said the CEO of Stellantis Carlos Tavares in a recently published interview.
Stellantis was born in 2021 from the merger of the Italian Fiat and the French PSA Group.
Carlos Tavares
Tavares has previously said that the European car industry is facing a massacre if it does not adapt to market changes.
Bloomberg's according to the calculation, VW, BMW, Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and Renault sold a total of 1,835,200 fully electric cars last year.
In the same year, Tesla sold 1.8 million and Byd 1.6 million fully electric cars.
Passenger cars were counted in the comparison, if it was possible.
Bloomberg's European car manufacturers are discussing product development cooperation as well as how different activities could be combined in Europe.
This year, sales of electric cars are estimated to grow at the slowest rate since 2019, research company BloombergNEF predicts. The development is thought to accelerate price competition.
On the market the slowdown has also been reflected in Tesla's share price. This year, the company's value has fallen by around 150 billion dollars, i.e. more than twice the market value of VW, Bloomberg compares.
The election results in both the United States and Europe are also thought to possibly make it more difficult to switch to electric cars if the support of those opposed to climate action increases.
At the same time, the EU's stricter emission limits for 2025 oblige car manufacturers to increase the production of electric cars.
The Chinese car manufacturers are supported by government subsidies, the exact amount of which is difficult to know.
For example, Byd's Dolphin model, which compares to VW's ID.3, is seven thousand euros cheaper, Bloomberg compares.
The automotive industry is an important industry for Europe. It employs about 13 million people and corresponds to seven percent of the EU's national product, Bloomberg estimates.
“Airbus of cars” would help share the huge development costs of electric cars
French CEO of Renault Luca de Meo has felt the ground for European car manufacturers to unite into a joint European company, as the aircraft manufacturer Airbus acts against its American competitor Boeing.
The “Airbus of cars” would help share the huge development costs of electric cars and bring economies of scale, de Meo argued.
Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo gave a speech next to the Renault Twingo electric car in Paris in November last year.
Stellantis's Tavares has also spoken openly about the merger of European car giants through business arrangements.
Renault's de Meo was more moderate about this option in an interview with Bloomberg Television last week. He said in an interview that European automakers' agility is more important than size.
In the United States, General Motors and Ford Motor have already begun joint electric car projects.
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