Renault wants the separation – electric division to go public

The considerations, according to the assessment of business consultants from Bloomberg, go further than the recent separation of divisions at the American vehicle manufacturer Ford. While the Americans decided to keep the divisions within the company under a single management, Renault wants to create two separate companies. Details about the possible project were disclosed by top executives such as Renault CEO Luca de Meo and CFO Thierry Pieton during a meeting with analysts last week.

Traditional car manufacturers look enviously at the stock market values of electric car companies

A split into two companies, with the electric division going public, could generate a lot of fresh money. This could secure funds for the development of new electric cars and accelerate the transition to electromobility.

According to Bloomberg analysts, a "New Mobility" company should emerge from the electric car divisions and the car sharing division Mobilize. An IPO of this company could take place as early as 2023. The traditional sector would remain. Here, combustion vehicles and hybrid variants would be produced. This company could be merged with a partner's business, possibly in the form of a joint venture.

How is ElectriCity developing?

In mid-March, we were invited to visit the Renault ElectriCity plant in northern France. Several factories have been merged into an innovation cluster here. In addition to the combustion models Scenic and Espace, production of the new Megane E-Tech is currently underway. However, all vehicles are assembled on a single production line. Untangling this assembly line would present a particular challenge if the company were split into two entities. It is actually conceivable here that the entire combustion sector must leave ElectriCity by 2023.