French automaker Renault has drawn down part of a 5 billion-euro ($5.86 billion) loan guaranteed by the French government, put in place earlier this year to increase its finances during the coronavirus crisis, its chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said.
Senard did not mention how much of the loan Renault had tapped but added that the company had ample liquidity and that it had only drawn down on the facility to make the majority of the tools at its disposal.
“There will not be a single euro of public money used for Renault, I’m stating this clearly unless the world collapses,” Senard said at an event on Thursday at which the automaker revealed a new design for an electric vehicle.
The automaker has joined several other significant French companies such as Air France-KLM in obtaining state-backed loans, as part of a crisis programme set in motion in France to help companies deal with the coronavirus crisis.
Its credit facility is loaned by commercial banks but carries a guarantee from the government of France of up to 90% of the amount borrowed.
Financial chief Clotilde Delbos said that the loan was due to mature at year-end and that it would have been “a bit of a shame” not to utilize it.
“We have a very good level of liquidity, there is no liquidity problem, it’s just good financial management,” Delbos said.
