The head of French carmaker Renault on Thursday called on the European Union to freeze car regulations for ten years to help lower the price of small cars.Chief executive Francois Provost said his team was having to deal with "a tsunami of regulation in Europe."
"My proposal is super simple: freeze regulation.... then we can focus on affordability, we can focus on electrification," Provost said at the Future of the Car conference in London.
If that happens, "all our engineers... will dedicate time and resources to decrease the price for the customers," he said.
Sales of new electric cars in France jumped 48 percent in the first four months of 2026 compared to the same period one year earlier, according to figures published by industry group Plateforme automobile.
These figures were boosted by the strong performance of the Renault 5 electric car and the rise of Chinese brands, which are intensifying competition in Europe's sluggish car market.
Fast increasing sales of electric cars helped boost Renault's first quarter revenue, which rose 7.3 percent to hit 12.5 billion euros ($14.6 billion)
