Renault has several Joint Ventures in China. It was selling IC engine cars along with Dog Feng and LCVs with Brilliance. However, the sales of IC engine cars has been dismal and Renault holds less than 1% of the Chinese market. Renault also has a JV with Dong Feng for electric vehicles eGT. In view of the market share of Renault branded IC engin vehicles, Renault has moved out of the Joint Venture with Dong Feng and has decided to stop selling IC engine cars in China.
With 860,000 electric cars sold in China in 2019, it is the largest market for EVs in the world. The electric Renault City K-ZE concept has been received well in China. Also, by 2030 it is expected that 25% of cars sold in China would be electric. That would be at least 6.25 million EVs. In view of these factors, Renault has announced that it shall only sell electric cars in China. With Renault support in terms of quality and technologies, its electric vehciles partner JMEV will cover 45% of Chinese EV market in 2022 with 4 core models.
On the other hand, with increasing level of urbanisation and spread of e-commerce, the light commercial vehicles (LCV) market is thriving in China. Also, Renault has a strong partner in Brilliance. Hence the second line of product that Renault shall focus on in China will be LCVs. The company intends to sell 5 core models in China by 2023.
The Transport Journal 