French group Renault has received several proposals for the combustion-engine division, to include all its Romanian assets, that it plans to create alongside one dedicated to electric vehicles and software, two sources familiar with the matter told Automotive News Europe.

It will not be a controlling shareholder of the combustion engine unit, said two sources familiar with the plans.

One of the sources said Renault might hang on to a 40% stake.

The entity for thermal engines would include the production of engines and gearboxes from Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Romania and America Latin. In Romania, it will hold all the three existing entities: Automobile Dacia, Mioveni Mechanical Plant and Renault Technologie Roumanie.

Dacia Spring, the brand’s first electric model, is produced in China. Such a strategy of placing Romania outside the electric division would have a major long-term impact on the country’s automobile industry.

By 2030, the Renault brand aims to sell only 100% electric cars on the European market. On the other hand, the French group has already announced that Dacia will have a second low-end electric car in the portfolio from 2026.

If France confines the production of electric cars to a single center, chances are that the second electric car under the Dacia brand will be produced in France. In Romania, electrification will currently include only the hybrid version of the Jogger crossover, in 2023.

(Photo courtesy of the company)

andrei@romania-insider.com