Renault electric SUV riles unions

Renault unions are raising hackles about the French carmaker producing a new electric mini-SUV in China and selling it in Europe, a clash that could become more common given how many companies have similar plans.

Labor groups are assailing Renault for exporting the Dacia Spring — a small crossover that the automaker bills as Europe’s cheapest electric vehicle — to Europe from a plant in central China’s Hubei province. Workers have been on edge about a jobs-cutting plan that the company announced just before it secured a statebacked loan 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.”

The complaints may become more common. Automakers are planning a wave of similar exports, many of them electric vehicles, or EVs. The models include BMW’s iX3, which recently started production in Shenyang and Tesla’s Model 3 built near Shanghai.

Several brands plan to base the manufacturing of their entire lineups in China, including Daimler’s Smart and Volvo Car Group’s Polestar and Lynk & Co., all three of which are jointly owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Renault’s plan is particularly tricky for political reasons. The company has drawn a small portion from the $5.9 billion loan that France backed earlier this year, and President Emmanuel Macron made government funds available only after the carmaker 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 carmaker to stick to its goal to make France a global center of excellence for electric cars. The union said the Spring’s carbon footprint will be “disastrous” because of the emissions involved in transporting the model to Europe from China.