Renault looks to separate its electric vehicle business

Renault said on Friday that all options were on the table for separating its electric vehicle business, including a possible public listing by 2023.

Thierry Piéton, Renault’s finance chief, said any strategies were subject to authorization from its alliance partner Nissan, but added that the Japanese carmaker was “in the loop” as Renault weighs up its options.

Renault has been pushing its plans to split its businesses of electric vehicle and combustion engine businesses in order to rival other prominent electric automakers.

The news came as Renault published revenue for the first quarter which was better than expected because of rising electric vehicle sales.

The automaker said sales of fully-electric and hybrid vehicles had increased 13% and accounted for 36% of the total. Prices increased 5.6% from the first quarter of 2021.

On the future of Russian operations, the automaker said the talks were “ongoing and making progress.”