AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, July 8 (Reuters) – A “Chinese
storm” is looming over Europe’s growing electric vehicle (EV)
sector, Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard told Reuters on
Saturday, as Asia’s superpower dominates key raw materials to
make batteries for zero emission cars.
China’s recent decision to restrict exports of two metals –
gallium and germanium – used in semiconductors and EVs should
raise red flags for European leaders as it shows the continent’s
over-reliance on China and the need to build a costly supply
chain, Senard said in an interview.
“When I talk about a Chinese storm, I’m talking about the
strong pressure today related to Chinese (electric) vehicle
imports into Europe,” Senard said.
“We are capable of making electric vehicles, but we are
fighting to ensure the safety of our supplies,” he said, adding
China’s EV industry and supply chain for raw materials resulted
from years of investments that would cost billions of euros to
replicate.
China’s export restrictions are escalating a technology war
with the United States, potentially causing more disruption to
global supply chains. Europe finds itself in the middle of the
spat, compelling it to look for alternatives in the
worst-case-scenario.
“If there’s a real geopolitical crisis, the damage to
battery factories solely powered by products coming from outside
will be considerable,” Senard warned. “That’s the issue”.
The development of alternative fuels – such as synthetic
e-fuels and hydrogen – would be crucial in the event of a sudden
shortage of batteries due to a dearth of raw materials, Senard
said.
“As any careful manufacturer would do… we’re looking for
alternatives to avoid paralyzing the country if, for example, we
run out of batteries”.
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain;
Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume
Editing by Mark Potter)
