Renault will focus on the segments in which it can make money. The new boss Luca de Meo believes in this direction mainly in the compact category.
–
Luca de Meo took the lead in Renault in a difficult time. It has been said for a long time that the French carmaker has to save, in addition to which a coronavirus pandemic came in, which made the results even worse. Shortly after its inception, de Meo had to announce a record loss, which in the first half of the year reached 7.3 billion euros (approximately 192 billion CZK). However, the former head of Seat trusts the new employer and has big plans for the French brand.
They won’t be announced until early next year, but de Meo is already indicating the direction Renault will take. It is dangerous to have 70 percent of sales in segment B, says the Italian manager, who warns that there are low margins in these categories. And so he doesn’t make that much money on such cars.
Rather, it wants to reorient itself to sustainable segments as quickly as possible and invest in those that are growing and promising higher margins. Specifically, de Meo speaks of the C segment, ie the compact category.
What exactly this means is not clear at this time. However, with these words in mind, the Mégane model should have its future secured, in the past, there was talk behind the scenes of its possible replacement by a crossover. However, compact hatchbacks and station wagons still play an important role in Europe, so leaving these categories would make no sense.
In the same way, it seems that we can expect great things from Kadjar’s successor, who according to the carmaker’s plans should sell better than the current one. As much as 14th place in the compact SUV / crossover segment in the first half of the year in Europe is simply not enough for one of the largest European carmakers. Especially when competing Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Tiguan or Peugeot 3008 are more than doubling sales.
–
–
On the contrary, large models, such as the middle-class model, seem to actually end up A talisman or a large MPV Espace, the end of which has been speculated about for a long time. These segments are no longer attracted to Europeans, so it is obvious that even the new boss will not count on them much to reduce costs. Twingo is also quite at risk. Even mini-cars are no longer sold on the old continent today as they used to, so many manufacturers are completely leaving segment A. On the other hand, closer competition may be a chance for Renault …
The good news is that Luca de Meo wants to further develop the Dacia brand. He likes that it is a small miracle, because no one else in the segment of cheap cars can make so much money. Alpine could then remain a narrow-profile specialist brand.
–
