Fabrice Cambolive: “Spain is a market with potential for growth.”

Fabrice Cambolive, CEO of the Renault brand (which belongs to the group of the same name), welcomes La Vanguardia during a visit by a small group of journalists to the car manufacturer's Technocenter in Guyancourt (France). The objective is to demonstrate the company's efforts to reduce vehicle design and development times to accelerate their arrival to market. For example, the new Twingo took two years to develop, compared to the four required by previous generations.

Cambolive defends himself before the Spanish-language press, having worked at Renault Spain at the beginning of his career, between 1996 and 1999. He is now responsible for appointing a replacement for Sebastian Guigues, who has left his position as general manager of the brand in the country to head the Italian subsidiary. He believes that the power vacuum left by former CEO Luca de Meo, which was temporarily filled by CFO Duncan Minto, is not paralyzing because the company "has a plan, medium-term visibility, and continuity."

Renault closed last year with a 7.9% market share, combining the passenger and commercial vehicle markets, its best performance in the last six years. What do you think of the Spanish subsidiary's performance?

We're very pleased with our strong development in Spain, with a significant increase in sales. But this growth isn't a coincidence. We've invested heavily to reach a Spanish market that demands modernity and innovation, that is accelerating sales of electric vehicles, and that is where we manufacture C-segment hybrid cars (compact vehicles), which are very important to me. More than half of sales are made in Spain (Renault produces the Rafale, Austral, Symbioz, Captur, Megane, and Espace models at its plants in Valladolid and Palencia). Spain's development is positive, but we've given it the tools to do so.

Combining passenger cars and commercial vehicles, Renault was the best-selling brand last year. Is your goal to repeat the number one position?

For me, a leadership position like this is a result, not a goal. It's very important, and I tell the teams this, to monitor sales of hybrid vehicles, which currently lead the market, and not lose sight of electric vehicles, where we've strongly entered a new B segment: small compacts. We've achieved this thanks to the new Renault 5, which is aimed at a lower-income customer base that we couldn't reach before. We're heavily invested in fully hybrid, non-plug-in vehicles because they're a real alternative to combustion, but we're not playing the hybrid versus electric trade-off. We want to provide solutions for customers. I don't know if we'll be first or second, but what interests me is having a very balanced position with hybrids and electrics in all segments. That's what we're looking for.

"We are committed to European production for Europe, and Spain is part of this ecosystem."

Registrations in European markets are declining. Spain is the only major EU country where sales are growing. How do you assess this situation for car manufacturers?

Europe was one of the few markets in the world in terms of registrations that had not yet reached pre-COVID sales levels. That's undoubtedly a problem: low demand. Across the European Union, there's a collective need for governments to boost demand. Stimulus plans are needed, with more direct and simple aid. And in the specific case of Spain, it's in a unique situation now because it's starting from a fairly low post-COVID sales level. Spain's potential as a market is much greater than what we're seeing right now. So, we can be pleased with the growth, but I think real demand in Spain would have to be even more significant, higher. Our commitment to a smaller electric car segment stems from that, from providing mobility solutions to other audiences to have a much greater presence in the market, because there's capacity.

Some industry executives believe that to sell electric vehicles in a market, they must be manufactured locally. Renault has shifted electric vehicle production to France and hybrid production to Spain. Do you think it's necessary to bring production to boost sales?

Spain belongs to a European ecosystem, and I'm not going to go into whether it's manufactured in one country or another because the focus is on working on a European scale on products that are sold locally. Spain is part of Europe; it's a base for us, and we will establish ourselves in the Spanish market with a brand that has one of the most comprehensive portfolios available. Some are made in Spain , others are French, but we all have to play a collective role. Eighty-five percent of Spain's production is exported, mostly to Europe, and we are committed to European production for Europe. Spain is part of this strategy, and in this context, the Spanish subsidiary is playing well.

"In the future, we need to increase our sales volume outside the EU to above the current 40%."

Does Renault want to become a more international brand and grow beyond Europe?

We are the world's leading French brand. If you look at Renault's sales over the last 20 years, between 35% and 40% of the carmaker's sales are outside Europe. This is a very stable percentage because we have some locations where we have located the entire value chain and operate from there, such as Brazil, Turkey, India, and Korea. In all of them, we have the design and manufacturing, sales teams, and the power to operate as a local producer and to export to their areas of influence, such as Latin America or Asia. Although we are not present in the US or China, we have sufficient presence outside of Europe to sell our products steadily.

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But will volumes increase above this 35%-40%?

In the future, we must benefit from these markets, which will grow much faster than the EU countries. We want to increase sales volumes outside Europe. More than 40% of global growth will come from India and Brazil over the next five years. Therefore, we would need to increase registrations in these countries because the markets will be more active, and thanks to our presence, we have the potential to place products.

And finally, who will be the new director of the Spanish subsidiary, following the departure of Sebastian Guigues?

We're in the final stages of naming a replacement for Spain. Sebastián has done a great job highlighting innovation and new products, and his experience marketing hybrids will be very useful to us in Italy. We know the two finalists, and the chosen one will be someone who knows the Spanish market and culture well. I can't say whether the next one will be Spanish or not, but he's someone who knows the country well and has experience in the Spanish market.