Abstract
Starting from the second half of the 2000s the French automotive industry has fallen into a spiral of decline. This chapter analyses the main causes of this prolonged crisis as well as the main policy responses to it. It shows that most of the ad-hoc measures taken during the crisis to prevent the collapse of the industry have proven successful. However, the attempts to address the structural causes of the decline and restore the long-term competitiveness of the French automotive industry had failed to produce positive results. Further, it discusses the future prospects for the French automotive industry at the light of two ongoing major transformations: the shift towards electro-mobility mainly driven by new post-“Dieselgate” (emission scandal) European Union regulations; and the long-term transition towards autonomous driving pushed by the entry of companies from Silicon Valley.
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Notes
- 1.
Source: ICCT, European Vehicle Market Statistics, Pocketbook 2018/2019, pp. 36, 64.
- 2.
Source: ICCT, European Vehicle Market Statistics, Pocketbook 2018/2019, p. 17.
- 3.
About 40% of the second-hand cars imported to the CEECs comes from Germany (source: “Consumer Market Study on the Functioning of the Market for Second-Hand Cars from a Consumer Perspective”. Brussels: European Union, 2015).
- 4.
Source: Presentation by Patrick BLAIN, Executive Secretary of the PFA, seminar G05 PREDIT “Fabrication-Process”.
- 5.
Renault, PSA and the State contributed with €200 million each, while the main first-tier suppliers added €50 million.
- 6.
Recorded at the conference “Les journées de l’Usine Nouvelle”, March 2009.
- 7.
About 78% of the energy produced in France comes from nuclear power stations, and 12% from hydroelectric power stations.
- 8.
Source: Plan national pour le développement des véhicules électriques et hybrides rechargeables, ppt, 2009.
- 9.
- 10.
The non-binding targets set by the new EU regulations for the market share of Zero and Low Emissions Vehicles are of 15% by 2025 and of 35% by 2030.
- 11.
The exact value of the multiplier will depend on several factors, such as the country of sale, as New Member States will have higher multiplier, and the level of emissions between 0 and 50 gr. of the models sold (see: ICCT, Policy update—CO2 emission standards for passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles in the European Union, 2019).
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Pardi, T. (2020). Searching for Industrial Policy: The Long Decline of the French Automotive Industry. In: Covarrubias V., A., Ramírez Perez, S.M. (eds) New Frontiers of the Automobile Industry. Palgrave Studies of Internationalization in Emerging Markets. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18881-8_5
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