Of course, it would be up to others to see whether profits could be made from small electric cars without production being subsidised by the state.
In March, with Europe’s car brands on the back foot, de Meo went on the offensive and decried Europe’s regulations as “objectively favouring premium models”. He called on the authorities to help redress the balance by actively promoting the development of affordable cars again.
Nothing from governments was forthcoming, but the Renault Group ploughed ahead anyway and launched the Dacia Spring, a bare-bones EV offering 137 miles of range with a headline-grabbing £14,995 entry price.
Crucially, it was the cheapest electric car in Europe – but notably one that is built in China, making it a more viable business proposition.
Even with the 20.7% import tariff, there are no plans to move production to Europe.
Renault has since followed it with the made-in-France 5, priced from £22,995, and Volkswagen is readying both a sub-£25,000 ‘ID 2’ and sub-£20,000 ‘ID 1’.
New Government
This year also brought a change in government, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. Come October, there was a lot riding on new chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget, but it turned out the answers to many crucial questions weren’t hiding in her shiny red briefcase.
As part of its election manifesto, Labour promised a host of car-and driver-focused pledges, including to reinstate the 2030 ban on new ICE cars (with some hybrids allowed until 2035) to provide “certainty” for car manufacturers that really didn’t know which cars they would be able to sell when we entered the next decade.
It also pledged to lower soaring insurance costs and help EV buyers by increasing the number of charging points, as well as introducing a battery health standard to promote the uptake of second-hand EVs.
Yet October’s autumn budget proved something of an anticlimax, and despite major lobbying efforts from the automotive industry’s main players, no buying incentives were introduced for electric vehicles.