Renault is continuing to work on plans to spin off its Ampere electric vehicle (EV) and software division next year, if market conditions allow.
The French automobile manufacturer, which launched its first electric car in the 1930s, hopes to obtain a valuation of between €8 billion and €10 billion, chief executive Luca de Meo told the Financial Times.
Last year Renault said it would spin off Ampere as part of plans to split the group into five new ‘teams’, with the new organisational structure aimed at enabling Ampere to produce a million EVs by 2031.
This week at an industry conference in Munich, de Meo, as well as warning that Chinese rivals had opened up a big gap on European manufacturers in the development of cheap EVs, said he and other senior directors would go to New York and meet investors ahead of the IPO to get a better idea of valuation.
Renault's split has been part of talks with partner Nissan about how to continue with their two-decade alliance, with the Japanese group expected to take a 15% stake of Ampere.
The EV arm is one of five more-focused businesses that the French group envisaged last year, with the four others being Alpine, a high-end zero-emission brand; Mobilize, "built around a leading financial services company to enter the market of new mobility, energy and data-based services"; the Future Is NEUTRAL, a circular economy company concentrating on battery recycling and other 'closed loops'; and Power, the traditional core business making hybrid and internal combustion engine powertrains.