Renault emerges as winner in Trump tariff chaos

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.04.11-042303/https://www.ft.com/content/692c60b6-b243-440c-b7d1-96ff6c7d3300

The turmoil caused by Donald Trump’s trade policies has ensnared the entire automotive industry except for one smaller player: France’s Renault.

Having emerged from a five-year turnaround under boss Luca de Meo and with hardly any US sales, Renault is insulated — at least for now — from the 25 per cent tariff Trump has imposed on all vehicles imported to the US.

“I had so many miseries as a Renault CEO in the last four years but at least, in this case, I don’t have to be the first one to be worried,” De Meo said in an interview held before the US president’s tariffs were announced.

However, analysts and company insiders say a broader market slowdown caused by the tariff chaos could hurt de Meo’s plans to further expand Renault’s share in electric vehicles as well as hybrids. 

“In the storm, we’re doing pretty well but we’ll see what the boat looks like afterwards. The storm is tough,” said one company insider.