Renault suspends executives amid espionage claims

The carmaker has closed its doors on publicly commenting on the allegations but it has outraged the French Industry minister Eric Besson who says it has led France to "economic war".

The minister, angry because Renault receives public money for some projects such as the electric vehicle, is calling for improvements in industrial security.

Renault and its alliance partner Nissan spend an estimated $400 million a year on EV research and development that has a total budget of $5.5 billion.  The company this week suspended without pay three of its executives after an investigation started four months ago.

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Bloomberg News reports that the highest ranking of the three suspended executives is Michel Balthazard, vice president for advance engineering and a member of the management committee.  Balthazard, a 30-year veteran of Renault, began his career at Renault in 1980 in the body engineering department.

The employees are now being given the chance to respond to the accusations, before any further action is taken.  Renault and its partner Nissan have invested heavily in electric vehicles, which will be one of the key issues in Detroit next week at the launch of the North American International Auto Show.

The espionage allegation comes as Renault plans to launch three electric vehicles this year.  Renault has aspirations this year to become the first full-line manufacturer to market zero-emission vehicles accessible to the greatest number of buyers.

"The Renault-Nissan Alliance is developing a complete range of 100 per cent electric powertrains with power ratings of between 15kW and 100kW,' it says.

Electric vehicles planned for this year include the Kangoo Express ZE van; the Fluence mid-size sedan; and the Twizy small car.  In 2012, Renault plans to expand that electric lineup with a new city car before offering electric in all its segments.

Renault plans to build more than 200,000 EVs a year by 2015-2016.  In Australia, a Renault spokesman says he had no information from the company other than what was published.