標題:French car industry to get up to €6bn state aid By Ben Hall in Paris Published: January 20 2009 11:17 | Last updated: January 20 2009 19:39 The French government said on Tuesday that it would earmark up to €6bn ($7.8bn, ￡5.5bn) to a rescue plan for its car industry hit by plunging demand, the credit crunch and a decline in competitiveness. François Fillon, the prime minister, said Paris’s “effort on behalf of automakers is going to be massive”, adding that it would be “in the order of €5bn-6bn”. Much of the money is likely to come in the form of loan guarantees and soft loans – mainly for Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroën – for which France still needs the approval of the European Commission. Mr Fillon said state aid to Europe’s car industry had to be “totally co-ordinated” at an EU level, particularly on the issue of loans. But he expressed growing frustration with the length of the Commission’s approval processes. “We are not going to wait for three months to see if this [the credit markets] unblocks itself,” he said. Günther Verheugen, the EU industry commissioner, said state intervention in the auto industry was “indispensable”. But he warned governments against taking measures that might distort competition. Carlos Ghosn, Renault’s chief executive, said urgent action was required, adding: “It is the very survival of some manufacturers, suppliers and distributors that is at stake.” However, Christian Streiff, the head of PSA, said the possibility of a big European carmaker collapsing were “almost zero” – underlining the different views the two groups have on state aid. Government aid is to be linked to a carmakers’ promise not to shed jobs in France and relocate production abroad. Mr Fillon said the government also expected car industry bosses toforgo bonuses. President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to announce the details of the rescue package in the next few weeks. As an immediate step, Mr Fillon said the government would make it easier for the financing arms of Renault and PSA to get credit guarantees. The two “ banks” have already been earmarked €500m each from the government’s € 320bn bank loan guarantee fund. Mr Fillon said Paris would “relax the access conditions” for the credit guarantees – in effect broadening the range of acceptable collateral the financing arms have to provide. France is also considering providing either credit guarantees directly to the manufacturers – as Germany is proposing under a €100bn fund – or direct soft loans, as the carmakers have sought. Mr Ghosn argued that French car production suffered from an underlying lack of competitiveness owing to high labour costs and business taxes. He said building a car at Renault’s Flins plant cost €1,400 more than at one of the company’s plants in eastern Europe. The car sector and associated services employ up to 2.5m people in France. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e85468b4-e6df-11dd-8407-0000779fd2ac.html 新聞來源: (需有正確連結) -- --

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