Renault’s EV Maker Ampere Sets $11 Bln Revenue Target as It Gears Up for IPO
Summary
Ampere, Renault’s electric-vehicle and software company preparing for a public listing, said it is targeting revenue of more than €10 billion in 2025 while it readies to compete with less expensive cars from China and Tesla.Ampere, Renault’s electric-vehicle and software company preparing for a public listing, said it is targeting revenue of more than 10 billion euros ($10.88 billion) in 2025 while it readies to compete with less expensive cars from China and Tesla.
The French car maker, which was officially carved out form its parent company on Nov. 1, said on Wednesday that it is aiming to sell around 300,000 vehicles that year. In 2031, Ampere is planning to sell around 1 million vehicles and has a revenue target of more than EUR25 billion, the company said.
The company expects profit and free cash flow to break even in 2025. It is targeting an operating margin of more than 10% from 2030 onward.
Ampere bills itself as Europe’s answer to less expensive cars from China and Tesla.
“Ampere is an ambitious, holistic, and structural response of the European industry to the challenges coming from East and West," Renault and Ampere Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo said.
In a bid for mass affordability of battery-powered cars, Ampere is aiming for EV prices to match the cost of Renault’s gas-powered cars by 2027 or 2028. Ampere said it will reduce the cost of its lower-tier electric cars by 40% between the first and second generation to achieve this goal, and believes its two EV-native manufacturing platforms will give it a competitive edge. Analysts consider price parity between gas-burning engines and EVs key to the electrification transition.
Ampere’s IPO is on track for the first half of 2024, subject to market conditions, the company said. While de Meo said in September that the valuation could be between EUR8 billion and EUR10 billion, analysts peg it much lower. UBS analysts see the company’s worth between EUR3 billion and EUR4 billion, according to a research note from September. On Monday, Jefferies analysts said they are rooting for an alternative to an IPO, which they worry will unnecessarily dilute Renault shares.
Renault will keep a strong majority in Ampere’s capital, the company said. Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, its first cornerstone investors, have pledged up to EUR800 million to Ampere, and Qualcomm Technologies is considering investments, the company said.
Write to David Sachs at david.sachs@wsj.com
