He doesn’t want to hear about going back. While several parties, especially on the right and extreme right, ask to postpone the ban on combustion engines in Europe until 2035, in the middle of the European campaign on the old continent, Luca de Meo supports the electromobility strategy.
“A step back would mean refusing to move forward,” underlines the CEO of the Renault group in the columns of Sunday’s Tribune. The electric car is a better option for the environment.” Luca De Meo also insists that a change of direction would be a bad signal sent to the automobile sector: “The automobile industry, which is based on long-standing technological choices , not “We need coherent perspectives and adjustment mechanisms, if necessary,” he continues.
Brussels on the bench
The CEO of Renault believes that some files have already been delayed due to lack of “coordination between the different industrial sectors.” “The entire ecosystem must help us achieve our goals,” he insists. “If we do not install superchargers on the roads, it will be difficult to sell electric cars (…) charging infrastructure is currently 80% concentrated in the Netherlands. , Germany and France, in Italy or Spain remain non-existent”.
The director general points out the responsibility of Brussels in this fragmentation.
“What worries me is that the European Union has not defined a common industrial policy,” he whispers, “and that this sector is not among its priorities is incomprehensible: it represents 10% of GDP and employs 13 million people.”
To decarbonize transport, and while Europeans are still far from wanting to abandon cars, the purchase of new vehicles will be necessary. The problem is that the average age for this type of purchase is 55 years old, thus excluding a large part of the population. Faced with this phenomenon, Luca de Meo regrets that “social debates focus more on pensions than on the purchasing power of young people.” The general director also points out another factor that keeps this type of public away from electric vehicles: the excessively high maintenance costs.
Source: BFM TV
