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Renault plans local electric vehicle manufacture

French automaker Renault SA is planning to make electric cars in China to take advantage of the nation's favorable policies for clean energy vehicles, a top company official said on Thursday.

"We are in talks with Dongfeng Motor Corp, our local partner, for making new-energy vehicles in China through our joint venture," said Jerome Stoll, Renault's chief performance officer and executive vice-president for sales and marketing.

Gilles Normand, senior vice-president of Renault and president for Asia Pacific said, "To have a competitive price and considering that the government subsidies only go to locally produced new-energy vehicles, Renault's electric car needs to be made in China. In addition, it will also help meet the local emission requirements."

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Without disclosing further details about models or time schedule, Stoll told China Daily that the two sides are also discussing the business model for the locally produced Renault electric vehicles.

According to Stoll, electric vehicles will take a larger and more important part in the automobile industry in the coming years. "Renault has about 40 percent of the market share in the European electric vehicle market, and we expect it to double by the end of this year."

He said that the Chinese government's latest policy on encouraging the development of charging infrastructure will boost the use of electric vehicles, and Renault will actively participate in the efforts.

On Tuesday, China and Germany signed agreements to use the same charging standard for electric vehicles produced in the two countries, aiming to further push green vehicle usage among individual customers.

"It is good news for Renault, as we sell many electric vehicles in German markets, and they use the same charging plugs that we make. This makes Renault one of the key drivers of the agreed charging standard," said Stoll.

During the first six months of the year, Renault's vehicle sales in China surged 44 percent as the local economy maintained a fast growth pace, Stoll said. "Though the increase is high, the total volume is still low here, and we account for just 4 percent of the imported vehicle segment."

However, he said that it is time for Renault to "build up" the market and brand awareness in China, as the country figures prominently in Renault's mid-term growth plan.

"We are happy to see locally-produced products rolling out of our new joint venture plant in Wuhan," said Stoll.

The agreement for the 7.76-billion yuan ($1.25 billion) plant in Wuhan was signed last year, and expectations are that it will start making sport-utility vehicles in 2016.

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