Paris (AFP)

Renault has recruited the former boss of Seat (Volkswagen group) Luca de Meo as general manager in an attempt to relaunch itself and give new impetus to its alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, after a year of crisis.

The board of directors meeting Tuesday afternoon at the group's headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine) decided to entrust the operational management of Renault to this 52-year-old Italian, as of July 1.

Bound to Volkswagen by a non-compete clause, he was unable to take office earlier.

Chief Financial Officer Clotilde Delbos, who has been acting interim executive director since October, has also been appointed deputy chief executive officer, also effective July 1.

Large projects await Luca de Meo, a multilingual and perfectly French-speaking manager. The chairman of the board of directors, Jean-Dominique Senard, is counting on him to breathe new life into a company shaken by the upheavals of the affair Carlos Ghosn, the former boss of the group who arrived in Lebanon in late December to escape justice Japanese who was to judge him for various embezzlement.

"I am delighted with this new governance which marks a decisive step for the group and the Alliance. Mr. Luca de Meo is a great strategist and visionary of a rapidly changing automotive world," said Mr. Senard, quoted in a press release from Renault. "His expertise, but also his passion for the automobile make him a real asset for the group".

"I am delighted with the decision of the Renault board of directors to have appointed Luca de Meo," said Nissan boss Makoto Uchida, quoted in a press release.

"We are all looking forward to working closely with him and our Alliance partners in our efforts to mutually support sustainable growth," he added.

Nissan says it "considers the Alliance essential for resuming performance".

- Marketing expert -

Luca de Meo, a marketing expert who has spent his entire career in the automotive industry, straightened Seat, which he took over in 2015 after driving sales for the German manufacturer Audi. The Spanish brand, dying four years ago, broke a historic sales record last year.

The administrators of Renault had decided in October to dismiss from office the general manager Thierry Bolloré, whose performance and style of management, deemed authoritarian, were questioned.

Luca de Meo will notably have to turn around the activity of the diamond brand in Europe, which must move upmarket to stand out more from its Romanian "low-cost" subsidiary Dacia.

Renault is at worst on the stock market. The share has lost more than half its value since the arrest of Carlos Ghosn in November 2018, a sign of investor mistrust after a year of crisis between the French manufacturer and its ally Nissan.

Mr. Senard, who took control of Renault in the midst of a storm last year, is trying to convince that a re-founding of the Franco-Japanese partnership is underway while the rumor of a possible divorce has circulated.

- Renaissance of the alliance with Nissan -

The health of cooperation with Nissan, of which Renault owns 44% and which in turn holds 15% of Renault, is considered crucial for the French manufacturer's ability to cope with the technological upheavals underway in the automotive industry.

The electrification, the autonomous driving functions and the connectivity of the vehicles require massive investments and therefore a critical size to be able to amortize them over long series.

With Mitsubishi, of which Nissan owns 34%, the Franco-Japanese alliance rose to third place in the world for car manufacturers by the volumes sold, behind the German Volkswagen and the Japanese Toyota, but with a much lower profitability, fault so far sufficient synergies.

"80% of this alliance is in front of us and not behind," said Senard recently, while a renewal of the management teams was carried out at Renault as well as within Nissan.

A meeting of the leaders of the alliance is scheduled for Thursday at the headquarters of the Japanese manufacturer in Yokohama. Decisions are expected on concrete projects such as the development of joint vehicles.

"The appointment of Luca de Meo is excellent news," responded French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire on Tuesday evening. "With this appointment and that of a new management team at Nissan at the end of last year, as well as the upcoming announcement of new industrial projects between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, the Alliance is now relaunched in a conquering logic", he estimated.

© 2020 AFP