The French carmaker will review its pricing policies on electric cars sold globally to ensure it remains competitive, following several price-cutting decisions by US rival Tesla Inc, Renault brand chief Fabrice said on Monday. Cambolive, reports Agerpres, citing Reuters.
After cutting the retail prices of its electric cars several times in the US market, Tesla on Friday also announced price cuts in Europe, Renault’s most important market, as well as in Israel and Singapore, extending a worldwide trend of price reduction that began in China in January.
“We will analyze each country separately, market by market, which is the level of competitiveness we must have to stay in the race”, said Fabrice Cambolive.
In the first three months of this year, sales of Renault brand cars increased by 9% to 354,545 units, thanks to the launch of new models, a sign that the relaunch strategy focused on the most profitable models of the brand seems to be starting to pay off. , after four years of declining revenues.
Despite the relaunch of sales, Fabrice Cambolive emphasized that the price reductions decided by Tesla are an alarm signal for competitors. The Renault brand chief also said that sales of the electric Megane, one of its most popular models, were up significantly in March, with a solid level of orders coming despite very limited price cuts. But this model currently has a similar cost to the equivalent model from the American manufacturer. After the latest price cuts decided by Tesla, a Tesla Model 3 car has a starting price of 41,900 euros in France, compared to 42,000 euros for an electric Megane.
“It’s clear that Tesla’s price cuts are a challenge, starting with the cost side. It is a warning that we are looking into,” Cambolive said.
As for the entire Renault car group, which also produces Dacia and Renault cars, and which will publish the group sales results on Thursday, it reported a 5.9% decrease in sales for 2022, affected by the loss of the Russian market. Sales of Renault-branded cars, responsible for two-thirds of the entire group’s sales, fell by 9.4% last year, marking the fourth consecutive year of sales decline.
