Renault on Monday detailed the brand new software program structure of its future automobiles which it mentioned shall be on par by 2026 with that of electric-vehicle business chief Tesla Inc.
The French carmaker, like most automakers, has been residing for months below the specter of common and drastic value cuts from its U.S.-based competitor. In France, the record value of the Tesla Model 3 now begins on the similar degree because the Renault Mégane electrical, round 42,000 euros ($46,318).
Though Renault’s CEO, Luca de Meo, acknowledged at a presentation that Tesla stays a “challenge in the short term,” he mentioned his firm is not going to have interaction in a value warfare on electrical automobiles.
“We don’t want to do what we did in the past, we want to sell our cars, we don’t want to give away our cars,” Renault’s head of engineering, Gilles Le Borgne, mentioned to journalists and analysts on the similar occasion.
A “software-defined vehicle” design shall be on the coronary heart of Renault’s future electric-vehicle entity, “Ampere,” the French automaker mentioned. Developed with Alphabet Inc’s Google and Qualcomm Inc, it can significantly cut back complexity by permitting to have simply 20 processors on board to run a automotive as a substitute of the at the moment required 100.
This will even permit for updates to be made remotely with out touching the {hardware}.
“This is similar with Tesla, in 2026 they are going to have the same approach, they have the same EV architecture approach,” mentioned Renault’s chief digital officer, Frédéric Vincent.
“In 2026, we will be at the level of Tesla” in software program outlined automobiles,” le Borgne added.
By making fixed updates of driving and infotainment options potential, the structure ought to enhance the resale worth of the automobiles, supporting the pricing energy of the corporate, and keep away from 1.5 billion euros of Research & Development (R&D) bills in a decade.
The complete value steadiness ought to however be impartial after taking into consideration the funding required for the brand new structure and the worth of the extra superior processors put aboard, Le Borgne mentioned.
The “Flexevan” electrical van program for last-mile supply will inaugurate Renault’s new structure round mid-2026, adopted by the sporty Alpine model after which by all fashions of the Renault model.
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Paris; Writing by Victor Goury-Laffont; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
