RAY MASSEY: French motor trade boosted by Macron’s motor present go to

That President Emmanuel Macron should deem it necessary to attend this week’s Paris Motor Show tells you all you need to know about the high esteem with which French politicians view their motor industry.

Contrast that with Britain where similar automotive events struggle to get a flicker of interest from even the most junior ministers.

In the French capital on Monday I was close enough to Macron’s sharp-suited security detail to smell their eau de cologne and the president was but a few feet away as Renault Group’s mercurial CEO Luca de Meo prepared to present his firm’s latest wares.

So why, when France’s political leaders proudly show their amour for the automobile, do UK ministers seem so uninterested – with some openly anti-car?

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) points out the UK automotive industry contributes £93 billion turnover and £22 billion added value to the UK economy, accounting for 12 per cent of total UK export goods and generating £47 billion of trade. They typically invest around £4 billion each year in research and development.

Looking ahead: Emmanuel Macron at this week’s Paris Motor Show

Then there are the jobs. Firms like Nissan, Toyota, Mini, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and more directly employ some 198,000 people, rising to 813,000 in total across the wider automotive industry. On the Renault stand, Macron took great interest in the new Renault 4 electric car which I’d had the chance to pore over a few days earlier.

It’s a revamp of a fabled family runaround that proved a mainstay of the French middle classes, and particularly liberated women, for three decades from 1961, selling more than eight million. Reborn now as a versatile electric car for the 21st century, features giving a nod to the original include a retractable electric canvas roof. Hard-top versions have roof bars.

Wheels are a standard 18-inch on all trim levels and models. A spacious 420 cubic litre boot includes 35 litres of underfloor storage compartments.

It is understood that the new R4 range will cost between £28,000 and £35,000 when it goes on sale from spring 2025.

Pitched as a rival to Tesla’s Model Y, Citroen’s E-C3, Kia’s EV3 and the Jeep Avenger, there are three trim levels: evolution, techno and iconic.

The more powerful 110 kW (150 bhp) ‘comfort range’ model has a 52 kWh battery and accelerates from 0 to 62mph in under 8.5 seconds, with a range of up to 248 miles.

Revamp: Ray pictured with the new versatile electric Renault 4

The 90 kW (120 bhp) ‘urban range’ model with a 40 kWh battery has a range of more than 186 miles.

In both cases, top speed is electronically limited to 93mph (150 km/h).

After his tour of the main Renault stand, President Macron and his ensemble moved over to that of the Renault Group’s sporty Alpine arm, with CEO de Meo and his team still hosting.

I don’t know whether it was by pure chance, or whether some smart cookie on the Renault events team was making a cheeky point, but as Macron and his ensemble loomed into view on the Alpine stand, what should be playing over the loudspeaker system but Sade’s cool 1980s class ‘Smooth Operator.’

How very fitting.

We could do with some smooth operators of our own in government right now – especially when it comes to promoting our own indigenous automotive industry to the benefit of the thousands who work in it, the billions of pounds revenue it earns for UK plc, and the millions of UK customers and export consumers abroad who buy its cars. It’s in our national interest.

France gets it. So does Germany. Wake up Westminster and Whitehall.

UK Government not helping car market 

Considering buying a new car but feel confused about the market?

You are not alone. It’s bonkers. And politicians aren’t helping. The Government wants everyone to drive electric cars so it is forcing car-makers to build them or face a fine.

Company car drivers receive generous tax incentives to switch to EVs but private buyers no longer do so sales are tanking. Then there is the lack of charging points.

Concern: Carlos Tavares, head of Stellantis (owner of Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroen) has warned that Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire is under threat

Earlier this week, leaders of 13 major car-makers wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves asking for new consumer grants and subsidies to restimulate EV sales.

Carlos Tavares, head of Stellantis (owner of Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroen) has warned that Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire is under threat of closure unless pressure is eased.

A decision will be made ‘in weeks’. Can’t say you weren’t warned, Chancellor.