EVwire brief: Renault reportedly rejected two separate takeover approaches from BYD over the past two years. Neither company has officially confirmed the talks, which surfaced in a report by French newspaper Les Échos, based on insider accounts.
BYD first proposed taking a stake in Renault around two years ago, after several meetings between the two companies. At the time, Renault was already deepening ties with fellow Chinese manufacturer Geely, including a 34% stake Geely took in Renault Korea Motors in 2022, and turned BYD down.
BYD reportedly tried again in autumn 2025 with a second stake proposal. This time, the offer would have given Renault access to BYD's battery-electric and plug-in hybrid technology and its battery production, in exchange for a foothold in Renault's European plants.
BYD Europe CEO Stella Li (Image: BYD)
Renault reportedly said no again. "There was a desire to take control," an insider told Les Échos, and Renault has reportedly made it a policy not to hand that kind of control to outside partners in its home market of Europe.
The Renault approach fits a pattern. Les Échos also reports that Stella Li has floated acquiring a legacy brand outright at some point, with particular interest in Maserati.
BYD has gained ground in Europe in recent years.
Context:
BYD has been trying to speed up its European manufacturing footprint by any means it can find. Its first European factory, in Szeged, Hungary, is running about a year behind schedule and won't start building cars until Q4 2026, while a planned $1 billion plant in Turkey remains paused indefinitely. BYD has also been in talks with Stellantis and other European automakers about taking over idle factories, a path that would let it dodge EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs while skipping the years it takes to build a new plant from scratch.
The push comes from a position of strength. BYD's European sales grew 270% in 2025 to nearly 188,000 vehicles, and registrations were up 144% year to date through May. In the UK alone, the company recently delivered its 100,000th EV, becoming the fastest brand in the country's history to reach 5% market share, without the subsidies some rivals still lean on, and is rolling out 300 Flash Charging stations there by year-end.
Source: Les Échos, via electrive.com
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