Renault’s boss has decried automotive regulations in Europe as “objectively favouring premium models” and called on authorities to help redress the balance by promoting the development of affordable cars again.
“Cars are required to be more sophisticated, more fuel-efficient and less costly all at the same time,” a clearly exasperated Luca de Meo wrote in a wide-ranging letter addressed to Europe. “This has already had an effect that is totally counterproductive: passenger cars are now 60% heavier on average.”
In his letter, the Italian strongly advocates a new industrial model that would strengthen the hand of the European automotive industry – and in particular volume brands - in the face of strong competition from China and the US.
His complaint is that Europe’s drive to make cars cleaner and safer has made them heavier and more expensive. “Since the 1990s, this policy has objectively favoured premium models to the detriment of more mainstream models,’ he wrote.
De Meo is expanding on a theme that he has presented before as both Renault’s boss and as the chairman of European automotive industry lobby group the ACEA.
His argument is that by forcing car makers to add more complexity, the EU (and by extension the UK, given that it carries over most EU automotive policies) has had “a negative impact” on the small car segment, with sales down by 40% over 20 years.
This "upmarket drift" is one that was set in motion in Europe as early as 1992, with the introduction of Euro emissions controls, argued academic Tommaso Pardi in a report published in 2022 by European Trade Union Institute.
Pardi’s argument, championed by de Meo, is that the EU’s tech-led solution to reducing pollution - starting with catalytic convertors - favoured premium brands over volume brands, which countered with cheap, lightweight, low-consumption vehicles.
The push to lower CO2 and suppress rising global temperatures actually shifted the centre of gravity towards bigger cars and the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo, which have been further boosted by softer targets for manufacturers of heavier cars.
While the aims may have been laudable, the effect has been disastrous on affordability in the 21st century, claimed Pardi. “Cars have become substantially more expensive during this period and much less accessible to the average European household,” he wrote.
His figures show that market share of volume brands increased by 37% between 2001 and 2020, while average car prices grew by 50-53%. That rise outpaced inflation of 38% over the same period.
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