skirmish between Bruno Le Maire and Carlos Tavares for the manufacture of the 208 electric

It’s rare: we have just witnessed a speckled foil duel between two main players in French industry. Face to face: the politician Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, and the industrialist Carlos Tavares, boss of Peugeot today Stellantis. With courteous but firm words, they delivered a perfect illustration of the debate on the reindustrialization of the territory.

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Today, the Peugeot 208 is produced in Slovakia and the idea is to soon reach Spain. However, it is on this decision taken in 2019 by PSA that the Ministry of the Economy wants to bend the automotive group to repatriate everything to France. Stellantis, parent company of PSA, must announce the color next November and we can imagine the strong tension between the two parties. The two camps discuss behind the scenes and the media contest we are witnessing is part of the game of actors in front of the general public.

Everyone makes their case

For the Minister of the Economy, the situation is clear: “We provide aid, we help industry, we try to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles in the territory… I therefore hope that manufacturers will also show, quite simply, a little economic patriotism”, insists Bruno Le Maire. Response from Carlos Tavares: the economic equation linked to the forced relocation of the production of the “e-208” would be neither in the interest of the company nor in that of the country. The boss of Stellantis explains that he must both protect the accessibility of his electric cars to the general public while amortizing the 30% additional cost compared to thermal versions, an impossible equation in his eyes by relocating the 208 electric to France. The fiscal terrain is still too heavy. This is industrial pragmatism and in no way a lack of economic patriotism argues Mr. Tavares who continues to invest in France for other models.

The Toyota case

Question: if producing in France is so problematic, why did Toyota choose our country to manufacture the Yaris hybrid? Carlos Tavares affirms that we must wait and that we will see later in the results who will have been finally right. The boss of Stellantis seriously doubts the possibility of producing very compact vehicles profitably in our country. His argument: by dint of various subsidies and aid, Europe has rolled out the red carpet to Chinese manufacturers who have taken a good head start.