I have become increasingly interested in what Renault Group is doing with its next generation of small electric vehicles.

Not because they have solved every problem.

But because they seem willing to accept something that much of the industry still struggles to admit.

Building an affordable electric vehicle is no longer a purely national exercise.

The engineering increasingly draws on global expertise. Manufacturing remains in Europe. The vehicles are designed for European customers. Even the factories themselves reflect how international automotive development has become.

That may well be the right direction.

The challenge is no longer designing an attractive small electric car.

The challenge is building one at a price ordinary people can afford.

Today the biggest missing piece is still the battery.

As long as Europe cannot manufacture batteries at globally competitive costs, truly affordable electric vehicles will remain more expensive than they should be.

Renault may currently understand this challenge better than anyone else.

The more interesting question is whether Europe can build on that approach fast enough, or whether others will simply become even better at combining global engineering with European manufacturing.

That, more than anything else, may decide who builds Europe's affordable electric car.