French Unions Angry At Renault Over China-Made Dacia EV

Europe’s Dacia Spring Electric is a China-made car, built in the Hubei province at Renault and Dongfeng’s joint venture plant. So far so good right?

Not so fast. It seems that French labor groups aren’t at all happy with Renault producing the Spring Electric outside of France and selling it in Europe. Furthermore, this type of clash could become common given how many carmakers are thinking along these same lines.

Workers have already been on edge regarding a job-cutting plan that Renault announced just before securing a state-backed loan back in June.

“We are fundamentally opposed to making the Spring in China,” said Frank Daoust, a spokesman for the CFDT union. “This isn’t in keeping with government support for the car industry and jobs in France.”

Other carmakers are doing much of the same, importing new models to Europe from Chinese factories – like BMW with the iX3, the China-built Tesla Model 3, or Polestar.

Renault has already drawn a small portion from its 5 billion euro ($5.9 billion) loan that France backed earlier this year, with President Emmanuel Macron only making the funds available once the company agreed to consult with unions on plans for two underutilized factories at home.

The FO labor union, which also represents Renault workers, called for the company not to deviate from its goal to make France a global center of excellence for EVs, while also arguing that the Spring’s carbon footprint will be “disastrous” due to the emissions involved with transporting the vehicle from China to Europe, reports Autonews Europe.

“It’s inconceivable and irresponsible to make them anywhere but France,” said the labor group in a statement.

The Dacia Spring Electric was unveiled recently along with the Megane eVision planned for 2022. The latter will however be built at Renault’s Douai plant in northern France.