Friday 17 February 2023

‘Tesla cutting prices kills EV confidence,’ says Renault Chief

Cutting the price of electric vehicles (EVs) destroys the confidence in their value from customers.

That’s the opinion of Renault Chief Executive Luca De Meo, made after Tesla announced a drop in prices for its cars in Europe, China and the US.

The drop in prices has had backlash from customers who had recently bought EVs from the company, seeing the value of their purchase fall seemingly overnight.

“This is destroying value for the customer, for sure, when you do this,” said Mr De Meo.

Renault is now the third-largest EV maker in Europe – and the Chief said “we will continue to protect the value of our electric vehicles.”

The French automaker saw its operating margins double last year from 2021, with a record cash flow.

Mr De Meo is conscious of keeping prices of EVs stable in the market – to ensure both the manufacturers’ profit margins are maintained but so is customer interest in making the switch from a petrol car.