The Peugeot 308, 308 break and 408 electric will notably be produced in Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), indicated the general manager of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, while showing the President of the Republic the Peugeot stand at the Mondial de l’auto.

Emmanuel Macron reiterated his ambitious goal of producing two million electric cars in France by 2030. “We will be there to support and accompany over the long term, to make France once again a great automotive land of tomorrow”, said- he launched.

While the transition to electricity raises fears of a resizing of production sites, all the French factories of Stellantis (born last year from the merger of PSA and Fiat-Chrysler) “have a future ahead of them that is clear “, underlined Mr. Tavares, “and the technology necessary to face the competition, in particular the Chinese competition which you can see today on this Mondial de Paris”.

If relocations have succeeded for 30 years, the automotive industry still has 800,000 jobs in France, 3rd European producer behind Germany and Spain. Car sales are at their lowest since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A few minutes before Stellantis’ announcement, the Chinese market leader BYD welcomed its first European customers to hand them their keys. The Vietnamese group VinFast also came out in force.

Earlier, in an interview with the newspaper Les Echos, Mr. Macron asked that we reinforce the “European preference”, that is to say the advantages of buying cars made in Europe.

After receiving industry representatives for dinner on Sunday evening, the president also announced a series of new boosts to the purchase of electric cars. The “ecological bonus” will thus be increased from 6,000 to 7,000 euros for half of French households buying an electric car.

No German manufacturer made the trip this year to the Mondial de la Porte de Versailles. After having invested millions in the Shanghai and Munich shows in 2021, BMW like Volkswagen have made the impasse, with their subsidiaries Mini, Seat, Bugatti or Lamborghini.

Only Mercedes has been invited to Paris since Sunday, but away from the World Cup: the manufacturer presented its new EQE electric SUV at the Rodin Museum.

– The electric 4L –

On Monday morning, Renault opened the Mondial by presenting its new 4L, a modern and electric version of the star of the 1960s and 1970s, sold eight million copies in 100 countries.

After the electric Renault 5 comes the turn of the 4L, reinvented by the French manufacturer. She will now be entitled to a descendant with the air of an SUV.

More square and high on wheels, the concept presented by Renault still winks at its ancestor with its rectangular grille and capsule lights. Its production is scheduled from the end of 2024 in the Maubeuge plant (North).

Peugeot is exhibiting its new 408 sedan and Jeep its first electric model, while Citroën showed its “sustainable” Oli concept ahead of the show.

After a cancellation in March 2020 due to a pandemic and in a complicated context for the automotive industry, this 89th World Cup has reduced the sails. The organizers are aiming for between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors this year, over just one week.

The giants of the automobile are replaced by several banking giants, such as BNP Paribas or Crédit Agricole, which exhibit vehicles offered for rental, banks being very active in financing long-term rentals. Netflix and Lego are also present.

To attract visitors (with an entry ticket of 16 to 30 euros), the Mondial has notably entrusted a large stand to the automobile youtubers Vilebrequin, who are exhibiting a few atypical cars.