Public support against relocations: Bruno Le Maire draws up a plan for the automotive industry – archyde

Relocations, solidarity with suppliers, and job protection: Bruno Le Maire gave his “guidelines” to the automotive industry on Tuesday in exchange for strong public support.

Industrialists in the sector, faced with the electric revolution, injured by the health crisis, and paralyzed by shortages of parts, met Tuesday in Paris under the aegis of their association, the Automotive Platform (PFA).

“I see only one strategy, to go for it. But with directions that are clear so that everyone can navigate,” said the Minister of the Economy at the end of this day at the Cité des sciences.

“Relocate the value chains of your products in France,” Mr. Le Maire told manufacturers. “Where there is high added value, there must be jobs maintained in France”.

Calling for the re-election of Emmanuel Macron, the minister promised that the government would continue “on the path of tax cuts, simplification, and support for investments”.

Emmanuel Macron has launched a target of “nearly two million electric and hybrid vehicles” produced in France by 2030.

After thirty years of relocation, the factories of Renault, Toyota and Stellantis (Peugeot-Citroën-Fiat-Chrysler) produced 2.2 million vehicles in 2019, all engines included.

For Luca de Meo, the boss of Renault, “time is running out to make France a + hub for electric vehicles”, which concentrates the assembly of batteries, the refining of their materials, the construction of vehicles and the services of mobility that accompany them, he warned, while his first battery factory is due to open soon in the North.

-Builders versus OEMs-

The sector must also show greater solidarity, asked Mr. Le Maire.

“Competition in the automotive industry is as fierce as in a Formula 1 Grand Prix,” said the minister. “We need more listening, respect for payment deadlines”.

Since the beginning of the year, the industry has been affected by a shortage of electronic parts, by logistical problems, but also by the increase in the cost of raw materials.

“A manufacturer warned us yesterday that an assembly plant, which we deliver, was going to stop today until the end of the year”, testified François Liotard, of the Lisi group, which manufactures screws and other fastening systems. “The treasuries are in great pain”.

“We too, as a manufacturer, suffer from a total lack of visibility from one week to the next,” defended Nicolas Morel, head of engineering at Stellantis.

– “Social violence” –

Bruno Le Maire also called for “collective responsibility” for the transformation of factories. “We will not succeed in transitions if they are brutal and result in social violence”, underlined Mr. Le Maire.

As the manufacture of electric vehicles requires less labor than thermal engines, the energy transition could cause the sector to lose 65,000 jobs, according to the PFA. But “if the scenario of decline prevails, we would be 100,000 fewer jobs,” said its president, Luc Chatel.

Free zones, efforts on the competitiveness of French industry, maintenance of purchase bonuses: manufacturers have outlined several avenues to keep France among the major automotive nations.

While the European Commission intends to ban the sale of thermal vehicles in 2035, French manufacturers are insisting on the deployment of charging stations for electric vehicles, essential to reassure motorists.

Many of them also demand that the government continue to defend hybrids, “transitional” vehicles massively produced in France.

“The industry is stuck in hybrids”, regretted Marie Chéron of the Nicolas Hulot foundation, the only NGO invited to this day.

After the implementation, in May 2020, of an automotive recovery plan endowed with eight billion euros, the sector estimates at 17 billion euros the investments to be located in France within five years. The PFA assesses the need for public support at 30%.

The State granted at the beginning of October two billion additional euros, of which the President of the Republic “will specify” the breakdown, indicated Mr. Le Maire.

tsz / ico / eb