Hyperdrive
French Carmaker Rivalry Defies Macron’s EV Battery Vision
- Stellantis, Renault resist partnering on $6 billion project
- Boom in electric car sales fuels battery supply bottlenecks
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President Emmanuel Macron’s vision for France Inc. to join forces in building batteries for cars of the future isn’t going exactly as planned.
The more than 120-year rivalry between Peugeot and Renault SA has proved too fierce to overcome, even for a 5 billion-euro ($6 billion) project backed by their powerful shareholder, the French government. Instead, PSA Group, now part of Stellantis NV, and oil giant Total SA are pushing ahead without Renault, which may pursue its own plans with South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd.