The intense interest in Renault is personal for Tavares. He spent most of the first three decades of his career at the company, only to leave in dramatic fashion after openly angling for then-CEO Carlos Ghosn’s job. He was quickly hired to run Peugeot maker PSA Group, executed a turnaround and orchestrated its 2021 merger with Fiat Chrysler, forming Europe’s second-largest automaker.
Whereas Tavares has been bulking up on brands — starting with Peugeot and Citroën, acquiring Opel and Vauxhall, and then merging with the owner of Jeep, Fiat and Alfa Romeo — Renault has pulled back from its decades-long alliance with Nissan Motor Co.
The companies decided last year to dissolve a joint-purchasing organization that had been viewed as one of the more successful elements of their otherwise fraught relationship. In December, Renault started to sell off its stake in Nissan.
During the interview Wednesday, Tavares said Renault is moving closer to Chinese partners, alluding to its joint-venture agreement with China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. to set up Horse. China’s Envision Group also is one of Renault’s main EV battery suppliers.
“We’ll see how this is going to unfold, including in the eyes of the French government,” Tavares said. “I have no specific interest in this company more than any other; I’m just observing that they have a different strategy.”
While Tavares’s dour view of Renault’s ability to pull off an IPO of Ampere proved prescient, acting on that omniscience is another matter.
The two companies combined employ around 80,000 full-time workers in France, and the state has used its shareholding in the companies and presence on their boards to protect jobs.
Government intervention also has been at the root of Renault’s star-crossed recent history of failed deals. Persistent efforts by Ghosn, 69, to combine Renault and Nissan while trying to balance state interests culminated in his takedown in late 2018. The next year, Fiat Chrysler briefly pursued a merger with Renault, then blamed political interference when it withdrew.
Another complicating factor: De Meo has had discussions with Volkswagen AG, Europe’s biggest carmaker, and others about jointly developing more affordable EVs.
“A partnership between Renault and Volkswagen may be the starting point of something that would put Renault under the dependence of Volkswagen,” Tavares said in the interview.
finance.yahoo.com
Either Renault or General Motors :Death of ICE in U.S. by 2031... Coming November 2020...prescription: a Stellantis-GM Merger
