Renault UK boss recaps his bumper first year

Guillaume Sicard took the helm of Renault UK a year ago, steering it to a 2% market share across 2022, up 8.21% year on year, but most significantly growing sales of its electrified portfolio across the year - something he sees as crucial for future success. Having previously led teams in India and China, he reflects here on his first year in the UK, why dealers are critical to future success, how the Renault 4 and Renault 5 can accelerate transformation plans and why vans are a critical part of future success. Are you happy with 2022’s performance, given the market overall shrank? “Yes, if I look at all the constraints that we had in terms of components, logistics, pricing, launching, then I have to say that in the end we had a good year.” What are the pressures in the current market? “I prefer to say that we are very lucky, not pressured. We have a good portfolio of models, a high level of back orders - although that can be a pain for customers. It is the right direction. “In truth, I don’t like talk of pressure, because doing your normal job should not put you into stress or panic. Yes, we have targets and so on, but if they cause you to panic, then you run around losing energy and end up achieving little. “We need to plan as much as we can. We know it's tough, but we have become good at managing the unexpected and so good planning is now just part of what we do. By planning we can map out a future of improvements that we can deliver - and I like the look of the plan we have.” How long are waiting times for new customers now? “As an average, for cars, a few months. About the same as rivals but really too long. Sure, it’s nice to have more customers than cars, but the optimum point is when you have one more customer than you have cars, not like it is today. By the second half of 2023, I expect to see supply starting to open up nicely again.” Is it the same for vans? “For light commercial vehicles it’s much more. We are working to improve this, but realistically we can only expect a slight step forward this year. The very nice difficulty we have is that demand is so high. That’s good for us, but also an indication that the structural economy of the country is still strong. “Electric vans are interesting, too. In the new Kangoo Electric, we have - and forgive me for being immodest, but this is from the awards we have won - perhaps the best electric van there is. The uptake is slow because the financial commitment is still large, but it will keep stepping up.” You haven’t just sold more cars, but - we understand - grown profits too. That must make the dealers happy? “We have a good network with whom we have a relationship that is improving. I admit that a few years ago it was difficult, but the point about starting from a not so great situation is that it can be improved. It won’t sky-rocket in a year, but bit by bit you can go forwards. Yes, it requires patience - five, maybe seven years - but bit by bit everything is improving. The product is better and more targeted, the brand, the acceptance by customers… we are building a sustainable business based on a plan, not a model that keeps changing.” Will those profits be eroded as supply opens up and you have to fight for sales again? “It will get more competitive, that’s for sure. But I doubt anyone wants to go back to having an overflow of cars again. That’s when the market goes into panic mode. It sparks a rush to find customers, which erodes margins and trust, because customers lose the confidence of knowing that the price they are paying is the best one.” The agency model has many definitions, but setting a price is part of it. It sounds like you are in favour? “No, I’m not. I love dealers, I love and respect the job they do in the market, how they communicate with customers and how they manage relationships with manufacturers. I think we need to respect that. “But I also have to remain open-minded. That doesn’t mean we should never do it. The challenge of talking to customers directly is enormous and we are not able to do that today. Maybe we will be one day, so maybe in a few years we will reconsider. Today I prefer to optimise my network: I like my dealers, I need my dealers and I need them to be profitable. That doesn’t mean things won’t change, but it will be with them. “We do need an environment where dealers and manufacturers need to be profitable, in order to make the investments in new technologies that are coming at us. You know, the car industry is not the most juicy industry when it comes to profit: a fair price must include profit.” How will the arrival of the Renault 4 and Renault 5 change perceptions of the brand? “Because we are small in sales terms, we need to be bold, and these are the perfect cars for us to do that. In the past four months, 80% of our sales have been electrified – I mean either fully electric or hybrid. By the end of this year, that will be 100%. I want Renault to be known for being a leading electrified brand. “When your market share is 2%, you cannot be everything. Electrification can be our personality, and already E-Tech stands for great technology, both in terms of hybrid and full electric. But the 4 and 5 are the perfect cars to make that statement and bring a bit more character to our range. We need to talk to the heart again. “Maybe 25 years ago people liked Renault. We were cheeky and a French brand you could love. It’s complex, but we lost that relationship by chopping and changing our range, by having quality issues and so on. We need to find the right tone again for a British audience.” Is there a risk using heritage names means you are looking back? “Nothing about those cars looks back except the name, and people love the names. One of the things that sets us apart from newer rivals is our heritage. New car makers can talk about all sorts of things - their electric powertrains, their connectivity and so on. We have all that too but what they don’t have is history. It’s why we started to talk about the Renault 5 on social media so far ahead of launch. It’s a hook for the whole brand.” Give us an idea of the impact CEO Luca de Meo has had inside Renault since he arrived in 2020? Firstly, he is a very generous and warm person: the first question he always asks me is how I am doing. He’s also impatient: he always wants you to go faster. And he’s also visionary: Mobilize, Circular Economy, Refractory… others talk about these things, we are doing them. Finally, he loves cars: he is always in the design centre. He’s the reason Dacia’s core colour is khaki green, and why the F1 blade on the new Mégane was coloured as it was. Not all CEOs are the same. “My favourite saying he uses is that we should try things and learn from them, even if they fail. The European mentality is to want a rulebook before we do something, and to only do it if we understand perfectly how it will go. He likes to say that we are rewriting the rules, so there is no rulebook. That gives us all space to be braver.” You also oversee Dacia in your role. It’s an incredible success story, but could it overshadow Renault? “Renault is the mothership, but that doesn’t mean Dacia can’t overtake in some ways. Its sales are pure retail, and that’s significant. So too it plays an important role: as other OEMs go electric, super-technical and so on, it provides the antidote, in terms of mobility for all. If 2023 goes well, what will you be reflecting on? “Above all else, I want the brand to be recognised more and more for being electrified, and leading in that. I want to be recognised for being a leader in commercial vehicles. We’re seventh in the market today, but fifth or sixth is possible with our range. “Beyond those two most important things, I want to push my retail market share further. It is critical to changing the brand. I also want to sell more C-segment cars or above. Today that share is 15%, but I want 40%. Both are critical to changing our profitability . “Finally, I want to put my Renault Group hat on. With Dacia and Alpine, we can achieve 6.5-7% retail market share. That makes us very important to dealer groups, and in turn gives them more security to work with us.”