Renault's electric car division to be plugged back into core business – report

Since its creation in 2023, Ampere, the electric vehicle (EV) division of Renault, has been run independently of the rest of the French automaker, but this situation will soon end.

According to Reuters, Renault CEO François Provost presented plans earlier this week to the company’s unions, which will see Ampere reintegrated into Renault by July. The plan does not include any cuts to the roughly 11,000 people working for the electric car division.

Ampere currently houses all of Renault’s engineering, and research and development resources related to EVs. It also operates three factories in northern France that build most of the automaker’s EVs, as well as their Mitsubishi and Nissan stablemates.

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Folding Ampere back into Renault doesn’t come as too much of a surprise as late last year Ampere was placed under the control of Philippe Brunet, Renault’s chief technology officer.

The Ampere division was created in 2023 by then-CEO Luca de Meo to “democratise” electric cars in Europe by offering them at lower price points, with the aim of quickly achieving price parity with their petrol and diesel counterparts.

Spurred by the success of the 5 E-Tech, Renault’s EV sales jumped 72 per cent in 2025 to 151,939 units, and accounted for 20.2 per cent of the brand’s European total.

At the time of Ampere’s creation, many in the upper echelons of the automotive industry were expecting EVs to quickly conquer the automotive marketplace.

Under Mr de Meo’s original plan, the division was set to be partially floated on a stock exchange during the first half of 2024, with Renault’s alliance partners Nissan and Mitsubishi asked to purchase small minority stakes.

With many marques experiencing slower than expected EV sales growth, and profitability hard to come by for everyone except Tesla and Chinese automakers, the prospects for a successful IPO (initial public offering) went south and Renault pulled the plug on the idea in early 2024.

“As there is no longer an IPO, there is no longer a need for a specific entity, which is why Renault is reintegrating everything in order to simplify and eliminate the complexity inherent in the initial model,” a source told Reuters.

Since taking charge in August 2025, François Provost has closed down the Mobilize division, another creation of his predecessor, which focussed on car sharing, charging networks, and the Duo quadricycle.

He has also strengthened the French automaker’s partnership with Geely, which has a minority stake in Renault South Korea, and provides the underlying platforms for the next-generation Koleos and Filante SUVs.

Geely and Renault also have equal shares in Horse Powertrain, which houses both automakers’ internal combustion engine assets.

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