François Delion, Renault: “Irreproachable with both customers and networks”

François Delion:  We saw a positive trend in business throughout the year and across all channels! Our very recent fleet is decreasing, as a result of the post-Covid effect, but our workshop channel is upby several points, because each year we manage to gain a little more loyalty from our customers on older vehicles. I put this long-term success down to our sales policy and our excellent relationships with our dealer networks, where ever they maybe. To be able to boast irreproachable relations with our customers, we also need to be irreproachable with our dealers.

F.D.: For our clients, they remain a market benchmark. This is not to detract from parts of equivalent quality, but these OE parts are designed and validated by the engineers who designed the vehicles, using processes that are second to none. And we are committed to supplying 100% of our OE parts as spares as soon as the vehicle is launched, which means stocking parts that are not necessarily used, but that’s our promise. This promise will become a challenge in 2024, when Renault launches ten new models as part of its product plan! So 100% of the parts will be available immediately.

F. D. : Not sooner, because maintaining the vehicle’s residual value over time postpones the customer’s decision to switch to alternative ranges. The purchase price of a new vehicle is also the first choice factor for its subsequent maintenance. The Value+ and Motrio programmes are therefore quicker to be activated on Dacia models, for example. The fact remains that as purchasing power comes under pressure, customers are keeping their vehicles for longer, which automatically increases the potential of our Value+ and Motrio propositions.

F.D.: This phygital approach is currently being applied in France, Spain, Italy and Germany, but can easily be replicated on a global scale (around 15 countries by 2025). It is a free service whereby owners can drop off their keys and pick their vehicles up, around the clock, using a locker with a unique QR code, for mechanical work (bodywork is being considered), excluding the engine and gearbox. This digital service frees our customers from the need to call in at a workshop. It’s a bespoke service, and the usual standards–going into the workshop, waiting at the service advisor’s counter... – are now optional and tailored to the customer’s wishes. In the four countries mentioned, 80% of dealerships will offer this service by summer 2024. And I would go even further: bearing in mind that 80% of our10-year-old fleet will be connected by 2030, we will close the loop of our aftermarket perimeter by taking advantage of this precise moment to offer our clients an appointment in advance. This digital brick will make it even easier for our clients to reach us.

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F.D.: Upskilling! This is the main challenge, because there is a growing shortage of labour almost everywhere in the world (excluding South America and Asia), especially in technical positions. And it is what led us to inaugurate our first state of-the-art bodywork and paintwork training centre in November 2023, right in the heart of our Technocentre in France, with state-of-the-art equipment. Secondly, we are investing in training operators in the electronic architecture of connected vehicles, and we are working with them to fine-tune the remote control of the vehicle by our own teams (Remote Diagnostic). Finally, we are working on artificial intelligence because it opens up a whole new world of possibilities: it enables us to more quickly analyse fault reports, how they have been handled by technicians and the best path to take. Ultimately, the technician optimises his repairs and frees up his time for invoiced commercial hours.

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F.D.: Our brand has grown by 200 service outlets (300 in, 100 out) in Europe [to around 2,500 sites–Ed.] with double digit growth in revenue. Motrio wants to be very active commercially and is aiming for the top spot in terms of customer satisfaction. We are growing more slowly than some in terms of the number of service outlets, but we will never sacrifice quality for quantity, and the same applies to our products. We have also launched Motrio Carrosserie in France -we should have over a hundred sites by the end of 2024 - with a concept that can be exported everywhere else through a streamlined structure: three to four employees, easy membership conditions (no entry fee, no royalties, no fees), a manufacturers’ parts offering and a multi-brand Exadis offering, and an Ixell paint and para-paint catalogue.

F.D.: With our 2024 global product plan going on sale, our primary challenge is to keep up with these launches for the aftermarket. This is a major challenge if we are to continue to grow in our core European market. We also have great ambitions abroad, whether in South America with the stimulus given to Motrio in Argentina, or in Asia with India, a market with huge potential given that this country is extremely advanced in terms of digital technology. I could also mention South Korea, which is a premium market in which we are stimulating the brand... In addition, our global Qstomize platform is proving successful: it specialises in the conversion of commercial vehicles (tipper beds, refrigerated rigids, etc.) and in the production of limited series. Itis installed in every Renault plant in the world (Latin America, Spain, Türkiye, Romania, etc.), at the end of the production line. I can guarantee that there is a continuous and worldwide source of growth in this unique service! Finally, we have real potential in the circular economy offerings that we have developed through our recent “The future is neutral” structure. One example of this is the launchin2024of a range of products based around electric vehicles - a first!

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