Renault puts pressure on Verkor

Renault, a shareholder and sole customer of battery cell maker Verkor, told AFP it had criticized its growing lack of competitiveness and 18-month production delays, demanding “correcting its industrial course” and “credible governance”.

Verkor, a French start-up founded in 2020, has built one of three battery gigafactories installed in the north of France with significant support from the State and the EU. Its factory near Dunkirk, which came into operation at the end of 2025, represented an investment of 1.5 billion euros, almost half of which came from public aid.

Competitiveness difference

“We remain a long-term partner of Verkor,” said Groupe Renault, which owns a 12 percent stake, “but we assume our role and economic constraints as an industrial customer.”

Confirming that it has decided not to contact Verkor for batteries for its future electric commercial vehicle, the manufacturer explains: “Verkor’s competitiveness gaps compared to similar products produced in Europe have increased significantly in recent months and cannot be met by Renault.”

For the contracts signed with Verkor at the birth of the factory regarding the Alpine A390, part of the electric Scenic and the new generation of Trafic, Renault emphasizes that due to delivery delays, it had to resort to South Korean LG for cells produced in Europe, which brought additional costs.

“Verkor needs to demonstrate its ability to correct its industrial course,” Renault states. “We want from Verkor a reliable road map and credible management, taking into account the damage caused to Renault.”

Unblocking European loans

The Stellantis group had similar problems with ACC, a joint venture between Stellantis, Mercedes and TotalEnergies; that company has experienced significant delivery delays and recently replaced its chief executive with a former Panasonic executive who was responsible for ramping up production that was too slow.

The EU wants to support a European battery industry in the name of its industrial sovereignty, while France is negotiating with Brussels over the release of loans for gigafactories that could support ACC and Verkor worth 500 million each. (with AFP)