#france

PSA Peugeot Citroen is planning an Opel-sized thinning of its French workforce, Reuters says, citing comments of Jean-Pierre Mercier, union representative at Peugeot’s factory in the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint Denis. The union claims that PSA wants cut 5,000 jobs. And guess who’s to blame?

In a press conference that is about to begin in a few minutes in Curitiba, Brazil, (see picture above), Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn is expected to announce the expansion of an existing Renault plant, and the building of a new Nissan factory. And possibly even bigger news.

Now that’s a nice sale: Renault sold 15,600 EVs that don’t even exist yet. In one fell swoop, Renault most likely overdelivered its near term business plan for electric vehicles in Europe. According to Reuters, Renault scooped up most of the 25,000 electric car contract awarded by the French government.

Dieter Zetsche and Carlos Ghosn had their intimate luncheon with selected members of the Fourth Estate today. It took place in the not so fancy, but highly convenient Maritim Hotel, which has a prized asset: A private entrance to the Frankfurt Motor Show. It, and the Marriott across the street, are the hottest properties in Frankfurt during Motor Show days. The TTAC-dispatched fly-on-the-wall reports from the luncheon:

Daimler and Nissan may announce some serious platform sharing, t.b.a. either today or tomorrow on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Bloomberg has heard that Daimler “is considering sharing its small-car platform with Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti brand.”

40-year-old cars have an edge on the Index of Effluency, LeMons racing’s top prize. Chrysler products also have an edge. And, of course, French cars have a huge edge on the IOE. When you race a car that’s simultaneously 40 years old, a Chrysler, and French… well, just keep it running most of the weekend and the big trophy is likely to go home with you.

Having penned my own paean to the late, not-so-widely-lamented Renault Vel Satis after seeing its anodyne Korean replacement, I was somewhat heartened to find that I’m not the only auto writer with something of a weird crush on the strangest luxury car of our day. In the August issue of Evo Magazine, Richard Porter of Sniff Petrol dedicated an entire column [excerpted at vel-satis.org] to his inexplicable love for a car that he admits was

a hopeless old crock [from a time] when Renault’s quality control department couldn’t organise a tasting in a winery.

But, argues Porter, the Vel Satis has a unique appeal in the sense that it was

so self-consciously distanced from its dour German rivals that it was practically falling into La Rochelle Harbour

Whether Porter is genuine in is love for the Vel Satis or simply trolling famously elitist, performance-oriented readership is a question I’ll leave to the Best and Brightest. What is clear is that Porter’s weird love will not be recreated, as Auto Motor und Sport reports that Renault has learned its lesson and will be making “conservative” luxury cars in the future.

Rumors of Renault and Nissan taking over Russia’s AvtoVaz have been around for a while. We have a new one! The Nikkei [sub] picked up indications that Nissan and Renault will take a majority in AvtoVaz, Russia’s largest automaker. Except that The Nikkei doesn’t report it as a rumor. The headline “Nissan-Renault To Take Control Of Russia’s AvtoVaz” sounds quite definite. Sadly, it is not true.

Bloomberg reports:

Renault SA Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn agreed to make development of upscale cars for French factories a “priority” as the government steps up its influence in the wake of a botched spy investigation.

Renault, based in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris, named Carlos Tavares as Ghosn’s deputy late yesterday. The French state, the carmaker’s biggest shareholder with a 15 percent stake, made support for the appointment conditional on strategy changes, including taking a stronger lead in its alliance with Nissan Motor Co., people familiar with the situation said.

“If it’s this hard just to get your man in place, it suggests we’ll see more, rather than less, government influence going forward,” London-based Credit Suisse analyst Erich Hauser said. France is a “relatively small shareholder with a disproportionate say over strategy, which has to be a concern for other investors.”

…Ghosn said he intends to be “more present in France from now on,” in an interview published today in French daily Le Parisien and confirmed by Renault.

In the face of such ( continued) humiliation at the hands of a minority government partner, one has to admit that America’s auto bailout has been an relatively hands-off affair. Context is important after all (although to be perfectly fair, Renault did embarrass the French government with that “spy scandal”). Besides, it sounds like the brave French pols are simply out to avenge the sad death of the Vel Satis, so hey, at least the French might get the epically weird luxury sedan to end all epically weird luxury sedans out of the deal.

Sometimes honesty is the best policy…

Ever since Patrick Pelata took the fall at Renault after the botched spy scandal, the position of COO and deputy of Carlos Ghosn had been vacant. Now, there are strong indications from Paris that the job will go to Carlos Tavares, currently chief of Nissan’s Americas unit.