PARIS (Reuters) -A wave of price cuts by Tesla is a “warning” for rival manufacturers of electric vehicles, the chief executive of French car maker Renault’s flagship brand said on Monday.
The brand’s sales rose by 9% in the first quarter of the year, indicating a restructuring strategy focusing on the most profitable models may be starting to pay off after four years of declining revenues.
But Fabrice Cambolive, the CEO of the Renault brand, said Tesla’s price cuts would force the group to take a close look at its pricing policy worldwide.
“We will analyse country by country, market by market, which level of competitiveness we need to have to stay in the match,” he told reporters.
He said sales of the Megane electrified model, one of its most popular, had risen sharply in March, with strong orders despite a very limited discounting policy.
“It’s clear that (Tesla cutting prices) is a challenge, starting with the cost side of things. It’s a warning that we are looking at,” he said.
Worldwide sales for the brand reached 354,545 units in the first three months of the year, the company said on Monday.
The whole group, which also produces Dacia and Alpine cars and which will release group-wide sales data on Thursday, posted a 5.9% decline in sales in 2022, hit by the loss of the Russian market. Sales for the Renault brand, which represents two-thirds of group sales, fell by 9.4% last year, also recording their fourth consecutive annual decline.
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume, editing by Silvia Aloisi)
