Mr.Talha Posted May 1, 2021 Posted May 1, 2021 Luca de Meo, Renault Group boss and architect of an aggressive, all-encompassing EV-based turnaround plan called ‘Renaulution’, says the project’s catchy name occurred to him one morning in the shower. “I often have ideas while I’m getting ready for work,” he says. “So I use those waterproof notepads you can get on Amazon. I knew straight away this name would work because it combined ‘revolution’, which conveyed a real sense of urgency, and ‘Renault’, which was intended to make clear we would use our own talents for this. There would be no consultants.” Even from the outside it was obvious the Renault Group had become too orthodox in its approach, says de Meo, who began his automotive career at Renault and remembers its adventurous, avant-garde soul. But because of the extraordinary twin upheavals created by the Covid pandemic and the rush towards electrification, he feels there is a unique opportunity for companies like Renault, even though they’re not market leaders. “If you see new opportunities and use them before your rivals can, you win,” says de Meo. “You may not have superstar players in the team, or the biggest budget, but if you adapt fast and use teamwork, you win.” De Meo’s appointment at Renault, announced after he had just completed a five-year turnaround in the fortunes of Seat, the Volkswagen Group’s problem marque, came at the beginning of last year. That was more than a year after his predecessor Carlos Ghosn had been ousted, and Renault was drifting, but de Meo couldn’t take office for another six months because of ‘gardening leave’ restrictions. But by the time he had his feet under his new Renault desk, many of the recovery elements were clear in his head. “Lots of the information I needed was already on the public record,” he says.
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