As previously reported, Renault recently suspended three senior managers on suspicion of industrial espionage, related to the manufacturer’s upcoming electric cars. Naturally, the situation begs an obvious question: whom were they spying for?
On Friday, French legislator Bernard Carayon dropped the bombshell, by saying that “proven, diverse and reliable” sources suspect Chinese involvement in the matter.
“There are in effect several sources that are typically thought to be serious who consider that a Chinese buyer is in fact behind this operation”, said Carayon, a member of President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative party, on France-Info radio.
The Sarkozy administration declined to comment on Mr. Carayon’s statement and, according to an inside source, the country’s counter-terrorism agency, DCRI, has not yet been involved in the matter.
Meanwhile, Renault didn’t release too many details about the affair, simply stating that it plans to take legal action against the three former company officials, whose identities will be preserved in accordance to the labor laws.
However, the automaker has pointed out in a statement that the managers were people with “extremely strategic” positions in the company, which could be one way of describing a very complicated situation.
By Csaba Daradics
Source: Associated Press via Detroit News
