Former Seat boss Luca de Meo becomes Renault’s new CEO. As expected, the Supervisory Board appointed the 52-year-old to the top of the French carmaker on Tuesday. De Meo is to take up his post at Renault on July 1st. The native Italian had been hot at Renault for several weeks. Disputes over the termination of his contract with VW and a strict non-competition clause are said to have made the change more difficult. De Meo resigned earlier this month as the boss of Spanish VW subsidiary Seat.
The delayed start as CEO could prove to be a disadvantage for Renault. The French carmaker is currently trying to renew its partnership with the Japanese carmaker Nissan and wants to lose as little time as possible. The alliance, to which Mitsubishi belongs, has been crumbling since Carlos Ghosn was kicked out, who had held all the strings up to that point. The once celebrated manager was arrested and charged by the Japanese authorities in autumn 2018. He is charged with breach of trust and financial misconduct by Renault partner Nissan in Japan. Ghosn (65) had fled to Lebanon shortly before New Year’s Eve under spectacular circumstances.
de Meo led Seat back into the profit zone
De Meo started his career at Renault before moving to Toyota and then Fiat, where he drove the revival of the legendary Fiat 500 compact car. De Meo speaks five languages. He has worked at Volkswagen since 2009. A good four years ago, he became head of the Spanish brand Seat, which he brought back to profits with new models.
As Renault boss, de Meo has to get the French car company on its toes, which has come under pressure due to the merger of rival Peugeot with Fiat Chrysler. The French also hope that he will fill the alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi with new life. Because of the different cultures between the Asian companies and the French, a lot of sensitivity will be required. All car manufacturers are currently under pressure to meet the stricter climate requirements in the EU. Mitsubishi is also facing investigations into suspected diesel manipulation in Germany. (apa, reuters)
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