When will there be an affordable electric car made in France? This is the question that is on everyone’s lips in the corridors of the Mondial de l’Auto that has just opened its doors in Paris. Four years after the previous edition, that of 2020 having paid the price of the covid pandemic, we discover a show with few “historic” manufacturers present, but some Chinese manufacturers ready to launch their offer in Europe.
12 Stellantis electric cars made in France by 2025
A particular context, while the Old Continent has chosen to ban the sale of new thermal cars, including hybrids, from 2035. Clearly, car manufacturers will only be able to sell electric, battery or hydrogen cars.
The opportunity for the head of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, to announce the production of six new 100% electric cars in France, by 2025, or twelve in total. Currently, the DS3 and Opel Mokka are assembled at Poissy, and we can add four utility vehicles produced at Hordain. The six “new models” are rather confirmations: the 308, the 308 break and the 408 in Mulhouse, to which are added the successors of the 3008 and 5008, in Sochaux, and the future Citroën SUV in Rennes.
Towards more targeted and “patriotic” aid?
Vehicles that will not be really affordable, while public aid will have to focus more and more on less favored households. The ecological bond should therefore it will go up to 7000 euros next yearbut aimed at the most modest households, like future lease at 100 euros per month whose contours are not yet clear.
At the same time, the idea of public aid that would be conditional on the production of the vehicle and its battery in Europe is gaining ground. With a big problem that would arise then: what “affordable” electric vehicles will be able to benefit from these subsidies that seek to democratize the electric car?
“We all know that for 30 years the purchasing power of the European middle class was based on the fact that we imported manufactured products from low-cost countries,” summarized Carlos Tavares, during a round table with the press organized on the sidelines of the Paris Motor Show. .
No cheap French electricity in the short term
The Stellantis boss does not doubt, however, the ability of European car manufacturers to “adapt” to this new context:
“Yes, of course we can adapt, in fact we just do that. We spend our time adapting, to crises, to new regulations, to geopolitical tensions.”
But how long? For Carlos Tavares, an “affordable” car made in France is clearly not an option in the short term:
“An electric car for less than 20,000 euros produced in France in the next 3 to 5 years, I don’t believe it.”
His wish: to return aid to hybrid vehicles “which already allow CO2 emissions to be reduced by half compared to a model over 15 years old” and offer a real possibility of changing cars for the middle classes.
“The dogmatic decision that was made to sell only electric cars in 2035 (in the EU) has unmanageable social consequences. This layer of dogma must now be complemented with a layer of pragmatism”, stressed Carlos Tavares.
Can Renault do it?
Renault also bets on the electric vehicle and made in France, in particular with the revivals of the R5 and the 4L, to be produced in Douai and Maubeuge. However, with sales planned for 2024 and 2025, it is difficult to talk about sale prices anymore. The diamond mark remains in the idea of a “popular” electric car, below 30,000 euros, but would continue to point to a minimum price of 20,000 euros for the future R5.
Case to follow, with a Chinese offensive that should be put into perspective for the moment. Only MG, which belongs to the Chinese group SAIC, already offers vehicles at affordable prices, with its latest compact MG4 starting at 29,000 euros without a subsidy. The rest of the manufacturers, such as those present at Mondial, BYD and Great Wall Motors, start with a fairly high-end offer.
Source: BFM TV
