Automobile: the report that blames manufacturers for price increases

The threat was barely veiled. "The current market level is a disaster," explained Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault, in Le Figaro on May 5. " There is a strategic issue here, including for the States for whom the [automotive] sector represents 400 billion euros of tax revenue per year in Europe." And John Elkann, CEO of Stellantis, went one better: "At this rate, if the trajectory doesn't change, we will have to make painful decisions for the production system in the next three years." In short: factory closures. Their target: European regulations, which, under the influence of German manufacturers, would pile up standards and cause car prices to skyrocket. Too expensive, they no longer find buyers. What is the reality behind their observation? Are regulatory standards responsible for the price increase? A study published on Friday, May 23, by the Institute for Mobility in Transition (IMT), attached to the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, with the expert firm C-Ways, refutes this theory.

Manufacturers and experts agree on two points: the market collapse and rising prices. Sales in Europe fell by 14% between 2020 and 2024, to 14.1 million new cars for private individuals. In France, the decline is even more dizzying: −22%, to 1.7 million. And it continues.

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