(AOF) – Renault announces that as of July 20, 2023, Philippe Krief will succeed Laurent Rossi as CEO of the Alpine brand. Philippe Krief will continue to perform his duties as director of engineering and product performance for the brand pending the arrival of his successor. A member of the Renault Group Leadership Team, he will report to Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group. A graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées, Philippe Krief has worked for Michelin as well as for the Fiat group.
After these experiences, he continued his career with Ferrari and then Maserati, respectively as director of the vehicle department and technical director of the Alfa Romeo brand. Back at Ferrari since June 2016, Philippe Krief holds the position of Director of Engineering. He had been appointed director of engineering and product performance for the Alpine brand on February 21, 2023.
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Key points
– Fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the world, created in 1898 and present under the Renault, Dacia, LADA, Alpine and Mobilize brands;
– Global industrial positioning, with sales of €46.2 billion generated for more than 50% outside Europe and with strong positions mainly in the following countries: France, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Belgium-Luxembourg, Romania, Morocco and Poland;
– Business model: repositioning on medium-sized vehicles, on the quality of the offer in electric or hybrid vehicles and flexible services;
– Capital held 15% (29.05% of voting rights) by the French State, 15% by the Nissan subsidiary, and 3.61% (5.88%) by employees, the 17-member Board of Directors being chaired by Jean-Dominique Senard, Luca de Meo being Chief Executive Officer;
– Strengthened balance sheet with net debt reduced to €426m, cash reaching €15.8bn.
Challenges
– “Renaulution” strategy in 3 stages, the objectives of which will be updated in autumn 2022: resurrection until 2023: brand autonomy, rationalization of platforms from 6 to 3, “mid-range” offer increased to 40% of revenues against 15%, operating margin of + 3%, free cash flow of €3 billion / renovation from 2023 to 2025 by the renewal of ranges / renau lution: increased use of hydrogen in professional vehicles with a market share target of 30% in 2030;
– Innovation strategy focused on connectivity, services and electric vehicles: network of experts, innovation labs (California, France, Israel), ReKnow University dedicated to electrification, data cybersecurity, etc. / partnerships: CEA and the Moveo, Sysematic and ID4Car competitiveness clusters, etc. / NeVeOS project for the electronic architecture of vehicles / E-TECH hybrid technology and French and carbon-free batteries / Renault Venture Kapital and Alliance Ventures investment funds for capital- risk and support for start-ups;
– Environmental strategy aiming for carbon neutrality in 2040 in Europe and in 2050 in the world: objective of a range of all-electric private vehicles in Europe in 2030 via €23 billion of investments by 2027 and 5 common platforms / circular mobility economy driven by the Flins plant;
– Positive product mix effect for revenue with the launch of Arkana, Jogger and Mégane Electric;
– Towards the spin-off of electrical and “software” activities, which would be listed on the stock market, and thermal traction activities.
Challenges
– Impact of lack of semiconductors: loss of 300,000 vehicles in 2022;
– Impact of raw materials inflation offset by commercial policy;
– Impact of the Russia-Ukraine war: net loss of €2.3bn from discontinued operations but debt reduction;
– Operational launch of Mobilize, bringing together mobility, energy, financing, insurance and maintenance services, targeting 20% of sales by 2030;
– After stable turnover and a tripling, excluding the Russian impact, of net profit in 1
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semester, 2022 targets revised upwards: operating self-financing of +€1.5 billion and operating margin of +5%.
A paradoxical performance
Data from EY highlights that the performance of the world’s top 16 manufacturers was particularly strong in 2021. While the average margin has fallen for three years in a row, from 6.3% in 2017 to just 3.5% in 2020, this margin stood at 8.5% in 2021. This level is a ten-year record. However, the context was particularly hectic for manufacturers, faced with unprecedented shortages of components. Global sales fell by 14% in 2020, the year of the health crisis, to rebound by only 5% in 2021. However, last year, players were able to reap the benefits of their efforts on the structure of their fixed costs.