Reuters: Renault to dismantle Ampere after failed IPO

Renault reportedly plans to close down its Ampere electrical car (EV) and software program unit on 1 July, reintegrating its operations into the father or mother firm. A 21 January report by Reuters reveals a serious reversal of former Chief Government Luca de Meo’s flagship technique by successor François Provost , though no layoffs are presently anticipated.

The French automaker offered its reorganisation plans to labour unions on the identical day the Reuters report was revealed. Regardless of the shutdown of Ampere as a definite unit, none of its 11,000 workers are anticipated to face job cuts.

The Amperre closure marks the second main reversal in below two months of ‘Renaulution’ initiatives launched by de Meo, who departed Renault in mid-2025. Renault beforehand introduced again in December that it could discontinue car-sharing companies and the overwhelming majority of its charger deployment plans through subsidiary Mobilize. As reportedly the case with Ampere, most of Mobilize’ remaining operations had been folded again into the father or mother firm.

To the shock of many trade observers, de Meo left Renault to develop into Chief Government of luxurious conglomerate Kering—which owns Gucci—after concluding that his mission to revitalise Renault was full. De Meo believed he had succeeded in his transformation mandate, main the automaker from vital losses to historic profitability and a strengthened place in electrification.

Within the 12 months 2020 when he joined Renault, the corporate posted a web lack of €8.05bn (US$9.7bn); within the 12 months previous his departure it posted an adjusted web revenue of €2.8bn. His departure got here as new electrical fashions just like the Renault 5 and the Megane E-Tech gained traction. The automaker bought 194,000 EVs in 2025, a 76.5% bump over 2024.

Ampere was central to de Meo’s Renaulution technique, created in 2023 as Europe’s first pure-play EV and software program firm born from a legacy OEM. The previous govt had sought a valuation for the unit within the area of €10bn by an preliminary public providing (IPO). Nonetheless, the IPO plans had been deserted in early 2024 when traders failed to offer enough valuations as a result of scepticism about EV demand and the poor efficiency of different non-Tesla EV shares.

“As there is no such thing as a longer an IPO, there is no such thing as a longer a necessity for a selected entity, which is why Renault is reintegrating every little thing so as to simplify and get rid of the complexity inherent within the preliminary mannequin,” a supply near the matter instructed Reuters. A number of Ampere executives departed in current months together with Chief Monetary Officer Vincent Piquet, who went on to affix French cable producer Nexans in the identical capability.

Ampere as a singular entity was supposed to democratise EVs throughout Europe by decrease prices, elevated expertise agility and exterior funding. De Meo positioned it because the car by which Renault would develop into a “next-generation automotive firm” and shake off the bags of being perceived as a legacy automaker.

Provost, who succeeded de Meo in July 2025 after 23 years at Renault overseeing procurement, partnerships and public affairs, is focusing his technique on “rigour in execution” and “strategic agility”. Amongst his first strikes was to nominate Philippe Brunet as mixed Head of Engineering at each Ampere and Renault Group in September 2025, signalling a possible merger months earlier than experiences got here to gentle in January. Provost plans to unveil his full five-year strategic plan in March 2026, anticipated to stress hybrid management in Europe alongside EV value discount.

Now not a definite entity, Ampere will develop into Renault’s superior engineering centre for EV and software program improvement, encompassing wholly-owned subsidiaries Ampere Vitality and Ampere Software program Know-how. The unit’s northern France vegetation at Douai, Maubeuge and Ruitz produce fashions together with the Renault 5 supermini and Scenic SUV; now they’ll revert to direct father or mother firm subsidiaries alongside the Cléon powertrain facility.