The French government, keen to be at the forefront of new autonomous technology, have said they want to deploy AVs on public roads between 2020 and 2022. Patrick Pelata, the former CEO of Renault, has the assignment to guide the French auto industry through the transition to electrification and autonomous driving.
Pelata will draw up a long-term plan to ensure that French industry can keep pace with European and Asian competitors, at the request of President Emmanuel Macron. The plan will be presented in February at a meeting of the global automotive association OICA, the French government said. “President Macron doesn’t want to get another report, but rather concrete proposals to increase the attractiveness of France and Europe vis à vis the automotive industry and new mobility solutions,” Pelata said Thursday in an email. “He expects the industry and the PFA (French automotive lobbying group) to collaborate and obviously wants to move quickly.”
The Macron government has taken a particular interest in ensuring the success of the automotive industry. Last year Macron appointed a senior official Anne-Marie Idrac, to draw up a legal framework to encourage the development of autonomous driving. The French legislature passed a law this week based on Idrac’s work that will allow autonomous vehicle testing without a driver on certain public roads. Under current laws, a human monitor must be present and ready to take control.
Pelata will work on the project with Xavier Mosquet, a managing director at Boston Consulting Group who led a team advising President Barack Obama on the 2009 bailout plan for the U.S. auto industry.
