Luca de Meo still has "job to do" at Renault despite Stellantis links

Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo is happy to stay at Renault and still has a “job to do” amid reports linking him with the top job at Stellantis. De Meo, who has been responsible for the industry’s most remarkable of turnarounds at Renault, has been tipped as a front-runner to take the Stellantis CEO role from Carlos Tavares, who left the company suddenly on Sunday amid a series of mounting crises. Speaking to Autocar at a Renault and Alpine Car of the Year test event in Paris, de Meo said links to other jobs were not something he courted nor craved. “I’m not looking for anything,” he said. “Renault right now is a very nice place to be. Renault has a great team. We enjoy meeting every day. People are gaining confidence with no arrogance and are true to themselves. People are looking out for each other. “That’s the kind of environment I want to be in. And I’ve got a job to do [pointing at the Renault 5 and Alpine A290].” De Meo – arguably the finest automotive executive of his era, having turned Renault from losing €140 million a day in 2020 to the best-ever profits in the company’s history less than three years later – also reflected on his career as a CEO and what motivated him. “The first time I had a CEO job was 20 years ago, at Fiat. Now I’m 57. When I was 35, 36, I was such a young, hungry executive, wanting to make his way in life. Then at 37, I had everything I could have dreamed of,” he said. “I came from nowhere, I had to earn everything. I was from a very modest family in the south of Italy, and then I had it all at 37. “It was a tough time at Fiat then, similar to Renault in the last few years. I had to completely turn around Fiat, and Sergio Marchionne [then Fiat SpA boss] was a tough boss. Eighty per cent of the company’s problems were on my P&L: we were losing €5m a day. “We had to grow very fast. In early 2007, I was about 40, after the launch of the 500. I wondered how to keep the momentum going for the next 20 to 25 years, so I could retire at 65. “I concluded that there are two things that motivate me. I want to spot talent and develop that into leadership. Young people, senior people, whatever. I like to see people develop. I’m not on an ego trip [looking out for myself]; I don’t care. “The other thing I like is being told a job is impossible, that you’ll never do it. That’s exactly why I did what I did to go from the Volkswagen Group to Renault. Lots of journalists, industry colleagues, old Renault executives, they said it was a waste of time, that I would ruin my career. It didn’t.” De Meo, the current holder of the Autocar Awards Issigonis Trophy, has been responsible for several comeback stories and new launches in his time leading several companies, including the 500 at Fiat, the 8C at Alfa Romeo, the stand-alone RS brand at Audi, and the Cupra brand sired out of Seat. Yet he still craves more success in the industry, which is one that he says he loves. “I’ve had money, power, awards, and I do things that are right. I love the automotive industry. I could have an easier life, doing private equity, making easy money, but this is even better [working with cars]," he said. And speaking about the Car of the Year trophy he is hoping to win for a second time in two years with the Renault 5, after winning it with the Renault Scenic last year, he said he wanted to “be like José Mourinho” and “win three in a row”. Renault former alliance partner Nissan is having its own trouble, but de Meo clarified the relationship between the two companies would not be one of “a merger” but instead one of partners on relevant projects. Renault’s shareholding in Nissan is being cut from 35% to 15% and de Meo said the relationship was one where “if I can help, I’ll help; if I need help, I’ll ask for it and get it” but for now “they have their own things to sort”. The two companies operate projects together and transact between each other, such as Renault developing and manufacturing the next Nissan Micra, which is based on the new Renault AmpR Small platform that underpins the new Renault 5. Indeed, de Meo said there was more and better business now between the two companies than when there was a full-scale alliance and observers who previously said Renault was responsible for Nissan’s problems were wrong.

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Luca de Meo still has "job to do" at Renault despite Stellantis links

"I'm not looking for anything," de Meo tells Autocar in response to suggestions that he could replace Tavares

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Luca de Meo still has "job to do" at Renault despite Stellantis links

"I'm not looking for anything," de Meo tells Autocar in response to suggestions that he could replace Tavares

More from Autocar

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Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

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