Coronavirus: Renault aims to avoid nationalisation

General view of the closed L'Atelier Renault store, at Avenue des Champs Elysees, in the 8th quarter of Paris, as the city imposes emergency measures to combat the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, on March 16, 2020 in Paris, France. Photo: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images

Renault (RNO.PA) chairman Jean-Dominique Senard told Le Parisien newspaper (link in French) that the automaker is not considering nationalisation but it may seek French government guarantees to bolster its finances amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"We may seek state guarantees like other companies," said Senard before adding that renationalisation was "not on the agenda” and "remember that in 2008-2009 we never got to that point.”

France’s health ministry confirmed this weekend that there are are 14,459 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country. On 21 March, France recorded 112 coronavirus deaths in a day, taking its total to 562. It added that 1,525 people were in severe condition out of the 6,172 who were currently in hospital.

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France is currently in its sixth day of a lockdown where 100,000 police and gendarmes are deployed across the country to enforce the new measures. People are only allowed to leave the house for officially sanctioned reasons such as going to work, shopping for necessities or getting medical treatment, and have to present paperwork.

Across a number of countries, automakers have been plants. For example, in the UK Jaguar Land Rover (TTM) announced that it will shut down its UK car plants in Solihull, Castle Bromwich, and Halewood from next week until 20 April in response to the coronavirus pandemic. BMW (BMW.DE) also said production has stopped at its European plants until 19 April. In the US, some of the world’s largest car companies are also shutting plants.

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