The plant project with Peugeot-Citroën was “risky” says Couillard

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The French group Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) has abandoned the project of construction of an assembly plant for electric cars in quebec.

Marc-André Gagnon

Wednesday, February 7, 2018 10:46

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Wednesday, February 7, 2018 10:50

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The French group Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) and its partners have made a wise decision in abandoning the project of construction of an assembly plant for electric cars in quebec, considers Philippe Couillard.

• READ ALSO : Quebec loses$ 14 Million in a proposed assembly plant for electric cars

Even if he admits to being disappointed that$ 14 Million have been wasted for nothing in the adventure by his government, via Investissement Québec ($10 Million) and Hydro-Québec ($4 Million), this kind of project often comes with a certain amount of risk, he suggested.

“When you make investments in a cutting-edge technology, this is a risk, always,” he responded to his arrival in the liberal caucus.

caucus, liberal

Simon Clark/QMI Agency

“Not commercially viable”

As pointed out in The Newspaper, on Wednesday morning, Philippe Couillard had made one of its main announcements at the world economic Forum in Davos, two years ago.

A new entity comprised of the car manufacturer Peugeot-Citroen, the manufacturer of the engines, the French Exagon, Hydro-Québec, its subsidiaries IndusTech and TM4, as well as Investissement Québec had to make, in Quebec, of components for electric vehicles high performance. The intellectual property research and development should also remain in Quebec.

“The province of Quebec, it is the ideal breeding ground for the development of the electric vehicle”, was delighted at the time, Mr. Couillard, in a press conference.

“Today’s announcement represents the future for Quebec and Canada”, said in turn the federal minister for Innovation, Navdeep Bains, who attended the announcement.

However, as revealed in our pages, the joint venture, named Arion vehicle Technologies, founded in march 2016, was finally dissolved before the Holidays, because of the costs deemed too high by the group Peugeot-Citroen, in particular because of the economic situation of the chinese market.

“The partners, wisely, have decided that it was probably not commercially viable, they have decided to stop the project”, is now considered to be Mr. Couillard.

100 000 electric vehicles

On the other hand, “on a larger scale, the electrification project in Quebec, it’s going very well,” said the prime minister.

Like the target of 250 000 new jobs set by the government, that of 100 000 electric vehicles by 2020 remains realistic, believes Mr. Couillard.

“It’s gotten to 24 000 vehicles, he pointed out. More and more people are starting to say well, it’s a bit like the jobs eh : the goal of 100,000 vehicles, finally was not so crazy as that.”

The prime minister promises, moreover, to continue to deploy the network of terminals of charging stations to encourage Quebecers to make the choice of a vehicle, zero-emission.