Renault SA’s promotional blitz for its growing electric lineup may be too late for the maker of Europe’s best-selling EV to stay atop the region’s expanding market for battery-powered cars.
The French manufacturer and its partner Nissan Motor Co. have long enjoyed a first-mover advantage in the market. But their alliance has seen its share of Europe’s EV market shrink by almost half during the past four years. Tesla Inc. took over the pole position in 2019, and Volkswagen AG is now closing in fast.
Fighting back is now among the top priorities for new Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo, who in July took over a company still reeling from the 2018 arrest of former leader Carlos Ghosn. On Thursday, he’ll preview two new electric models: the Dacia Spring crossover coming next year and a sedan that Renault hasn’t released the name of yet. It’s also debuting a pure-electric version of the Twingo city car and showing hybrid and plug-in iterations of its Clio and Captur models.