Renault scraps Tesla rival listing

CAR giant Renault has scrapped plans to list its electric vehicle business on the stock market amid slowing demand and a lack of investor appetite.

The French manufacturer yesterday announced it was cancelling a proposed float of the EV unit, Ampere, in the first half of this year, with bosses not giving any revised timings for when the deal could re-emerge.

Bosses at the company blamed “current equity market conditions”, while also saying that Renault Group’s ability to generate cash had proved better than expected. Luca de Meo, Renault’s chief executive, had previously described Ampere as Europe’s answer to Tesla while suggesting its success was crucial to the wider group’s turnaround.

However, yesterday he said: “Today, we took a pragmatic decision. We are all focused on executing our strategy and building our track record to create value for all our stakeholders.”

Continental and UK sales of EVS slowed last year, as cash-strapped consumers baulked at high prices and unevenly-spread charging networks.

Separately yesterday, London-listed car dealer Inchcape confirmed it was exploring a sale of its UK network of 70 sites. The market for listings plummeted last year, as cautious dealmakers kept their powder dry amid rising interest rates and turbulent geopolitics.

According to EY, the volume of listings globally fell by 8pc compared with 2022, with proceeds down by 33pc. Just $123bn (£96.8bn) was raised overall, the lowest annual figure for the past five years.

EY said sentiment appeared to improve towards the end of 2023 but Renault’s decision will be seen as a fresh note of gloom across the market.

Mr de Meo had previously suggested Ampere could be worth up to €10bn (£8.5bn), with the listing seen as a strategic move to separate Renault’s legacy car business from the faster-growing EV division.