Renault is making big changes to combat the threat from Chinese electric cars

I recently got under the skin of Renault and found it’s a firm that epitomises the decisions traditional manufacturers are having to make across their businesses to meet the fresh competition from new brands, especially around the electric vehicle market.

From finding ways to stay competitive on price to being more nimble in product and tech developments, there’s no doubt that the new threat has made existing successful car makers improve at what they do, and offer better value and superior vehicles to consumers.

We’ve written at length about the challenge the new, primarily Chinese, companies pose to long-standing marques, but that’s potentially having a positive impact for consumers. Would the Volkswagen Group, Stellantis and its many brands, or the Renault Group, for example, be quite 

so driven to modernise, adapt and improve their products and bring electric cars in particular into the price range of more consumers, without what could be seen as an invading threat to their very existence? Innovate or die. 

The long-established car makers have been very used to having things their own way, but electrification moved the goalposts, first with Tesla coming in and doing things very differently. Not everything it does is better, and there are still questions to answer about where the firm goes in the future, but there’s no ignoring the huge sales success of the Model 3 and Model Y in particular. Or the massive affection many drivers have instantly felt for the brand; its fanbase is up with the most vociferous and protective of any out there, built from nothing almost as fast as the acceleration of a Model 3 Performance. 

But one Tesla doesn’t make a wake-up call for an ingrained industry. A bunch of Chinese brands, all with cutting-edge battery tech, super-fast response time and big ambitions on the other hand… So it was fascinating to talk to Renault across product, design, manufacturing and tech to see how a huge and well loved brand is responding to the threat by making big changes. New processes, new products, new ways of thinking, all designed to make sure a traditional manufacturer can meet the new challengers head on, and hopefully thrive for another 100 years.

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