Renault’s Ampere going IPO next spring?

Renault CEO Luca de Meo has given more details about when the electric car business will split from the rest of the company and its planned Initial Public offering (IPO). The split will take place on 1 November 2023.

From then on, Ampere will be separated from the Renault Group, but the ownership structure will not change – Ampere will remain 100% in the hands of the carmaker. The IPO will follow a few months later: Ampere shares will be traded in spring 2024, de Meo told the French BFM TV.

Depending on market conditions

He did not narrow down the date for the IPO more precisely. “So we separate, and then we see if we have the right conditions to enter the market,” de Meo said. Renault’s top management thus wants to ensure a certain flexibility to find a suitable date.

An investor for the IPO has already been identified: Alliance partner Nissan will invest up to 600 million euros in Ampere and receive a seat on the board in return.

However, what percentage of shares the Japanese will acquire for this sum remains to be seen. During talks about the reorganization of the alliance, which have been going on for years, it was agreed that Nissan could take a stake of up to 15% in Ampere, which corresponds to the (new) cross-shareholding of Renault and Nissan.

But according to a report in the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun from July, Nissan will probably receive 10% for this investment.

One-third of engineers

De Meo himself will become head of Ampere. Renault already presented the management team of the new division in June. The Spanish Josep Maria Recasens as COO and the French Vincent Piquet as CFO will support de Meo.

The Ampere team will comprise around 10 000 employees, one-third engineers. These will not only develop in the field of electric drives but will also make Ampere a significant player in software-defined vehicles.

Minus 40% in cost of EVs

With its own e-mobility and software development and simultaneous access to Renault’s industrial resources, Ampere’s primary goal is to reduce the cost of the next generation of electric cars. It previously announced a target of 40%.

Ampere targets an average annual revenue growth rate of 30% by 2030. With 80% of its investments already made, Ampere is expected to turn a profit by 2025 and achieve double-digit margins by 2030.

New Scenic

At the IAA Mobility motor show in Munich next week, Renault will show a new sibling in its long-awaited Renault Scenic, which will be available as a BEV. This Scenic E-Tech Electric will, of course, share a lot of technical components, including the drive and the platform, with the already-selling Megane E-Tech Electric.