Automobile: The patterns of Stellantis and Renault ask the EU to soften the rules, supported by unions worried for jobs

John Elkann, President of Stellantis, and Luca de Meo, Managing Director of Renault, sound the alarm. They call for it, in an interview with Le Figaro published on Monday May 5, to a relief of regulations in the EU concerning the automotive market. The unions support these requests. Details.

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As a reminder, the European Commission presented Wednesday March 5 The conclusions of its strategic dialogue with the automotive sector to try to straighten a sector in difficulty. Two months later, the bosses of Stellantis and Renault are pressing the European Union to urgently simplify its regulations, believing that it prevents it from offering cheap cars and threatening their production on European soil in the medium term, According to their common maintenance in Le Figaro Posted Monday evening.

“The European automotive market has been falling for five years now,” said John Elkann, president of Stellantis, and “at the current rhythm, the market could be more than divided by two” by 2035. “The market does not buy what Europe wants us to sell it”, abounds Luca de Meo, director general of Renault: “replace all of the current volumes by electricity, not”.

John Elkann, president of Stellantis, February 10, 2025. • © Ludovic Marin / AFP

“If the trajectory does not change, we will have to take within three years of painful decisions for the production apparatus”, warned the boss of Stellantis, for whom “the fate of the European automotive industry is played this year”. Clearly, employment deletion plans could be put in place. “All countries in the world that have an automotive industry are organized to protect their market. Except Europe,” worries Renault boss, in the middle of a trade war and rivalries with the United States and China.

“Conversely, if there is a mobilization around a clear political choice, if we recreate a market and volumes, we are both convinced that we can continue to produce in Europe, including in Western Europe,” he said.

“Among European manufacturers, there are two schools of thought”, explains Luca de Meo: “that of Stellantis and the Renault group, which weigh two of the market for them, and who want to produce and sell popular cars in Europe and for Europe. And that of premium brands, for which Europe counts, certainly, but whose priority is export”. “For twenty years, it is their logic that has dictated the regulations” leading to producing cars “always more complex, always heavier, always more expensive”, he regrets.

The two men call for France, Italy, and Spain, whose populations “are the buyers” of small cars which “are also the producers” and who “weigh together more than Germany”, argues John Elkann.

The new Citroën Renault, April 29, 2025. • © Stéphane Geufroi / Maxppp

“What we are asking for is a differentiated regulation for small cars”, explains the boss of Renault, which presents three claims: “One, the regulations must now relate only to the new models, not the old; two, make us rules by +packages +, rather than every month; and three, we need a single window”.

According to him, the various directions in Brussels have “contradictory strategies. When one requires the abolition of PFAS, the eternal pollutants, which is legitimate, the other asks us for battery cars. However, there are no batteries without pfas”.

The Stellantis unions share these concerns with the boss of their group. Questioned by France 3 Franche-Comté, Jean-Paul Guy, CFTC union delegate of the Stellantis factory in Vesoul, does not hide his lack of confidence in the future. A drop in staff is already at work in French factories in the automotive sector. The situation could worsen, due to increased competition with Chinese electric vehicles. “What we can fear too is that with Trump’s measures and threats to taxes in China, Chinese vehicles invade Europe. It is a disaster for European manufacturers who have chosen to continue to produce in the European, Spain, France and Italy countries,” he explains.

As a reminder, China is massively subsidizing its automotive industry. The goal? Become a world leader in electric vehicles. Europe considers that the arrival of Chinese electric vehicles in Europe is unjust competition for European historic manufacturers. A surcharge has also been implemented. She is currently at the heart Intense debate between the EU and China.

I think in the long term, if drastic measures are not taken, the automobile in Europe will end up like that of textiles, 50 years ago.

Jean-Paul Guy, CFTC union delegate of the Stellantis factory in Vesoul

The trade unionist also advocates “the reduction of measures” to prevent production from being dried up “at high speed” and causes jobs. According to him, you should not bet everything on the electric, but favor “multi-energy”. Another lever to help the sector: “lighten the employer charges so that we can use in Europe and fight on equal arms with countries like China”, abounds Vésulien. And to wonder: “We have seen the price of vehicles flying by +25% in Europe. Who can buy new vehicles at the prices currently?”

In Vesoul as in the other French sites of the Stellantis group, a plan for collective conventional ruptures is underway with accompanied departures, mobility holidays or senior holidays. On the Haut-Saônois site, 1600 permanent contracts and 800 temporary workers work. “We would like to keep our jobs because we have know-how, very motivated employees, and who produce quality vehicles. What we fear the most is that in the long term we close the factories,” concludes the trade unionist.

► With AFP

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