Renault still open to supply technology to rivals to make cars cheaper, CEO says
French automaker Renault is willing to supply technology to other carmakers to help increase the total output of vehicles with shared features that make them cheaper to manufacture, CEO Luca De Meo said on Tuesday.
De Meo, an Italian national, told a parliamentary hearing in Rome that Renault was not discouraged by its recent failed attempt to cooperate with Germany's Volkswagen.
"We remain fully open," he said.
Renault, which over the years has cooperated in specific areas of the market with several of its rivals, including Mercedes and Fiat, last year started discussions with Volkswagen over a plan to jointly develop an affordable electric version (EV) of the Renault Twingo small car. Europe's largest automaker walked away from talks after a few months.
De Meo said on Tuesday that sharing technologies - including platforms, the architectures that can underpin several different models - could prove particularly useful in the areas of small cars and commercial vehicles.
"These normally require huge investments for small margins," he said.
Last week, in a joint appearance with Stellantis Chairman John Elkann, De Meo said Renault was not making money on some small cars, adding that between 2015 and 2030 regulations will increase the cost of a medium-sized Renault-built car by 20% and for small cars by 40%.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, Editing by Louise Heavens)
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