Renault is in the final stages of the race for a new CEO.

Sales, Renault group, Volkswagen siat,

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Renault is in the final stages of the race for a new CEO.

In the second week of the last month of 2019, different French media gave different answers about who will be Renault's next CEO.

On Dec. 9, the French Business news television channel BFM Business reported that the successor would be Henri poupart-lafarge, the current CEO of French transportation infrastructure group alstom. But just two days later, agence france-presse and les echos reported that Renault's board had met on Tuesday in favour of Luca DE Meo, the global head of segat. Agence france-presse even said the 52-year-old had the backing of the French government.

The global car brand, which is 15 per cent owned by the French government, is understandably popular in France. In addition to those two, the finalists include senior figures such as Didier Leroy, executive vice President of Toyota, and Patrick Koller, chief executive of parts maker faurecia.

At the point of new technological change, the top executives of global auto companies are constantly changing. But Renault's chief executive seems to be particularly vulnerable, as the complex and tangled relationship within the renault-nissan-mitsubishi alliance, in addition to falling sales in markets around the world, is bound to face pressures.

Renault needs someone like Mr Marchionne who can save fiat-chrysler, a firefighter.

01

Renault's embarrassment

The renault-nissan - mitsubishi alliance has been in turmoil since Mr Ghosn was arrested in late 2018.

In early October, Jean Dominique Senard, Renault's chairman, made no secret of his displeasure with Thierry Bollore, then Renault's chief executive. Later, Clotilde Delbos, then Renault's chief financial officer and senior vice-president, took over as interim chief executive. But clearly, delbos has been unable to resolve Renault's current embarrassment.

Renault needs a strongman now more than ever.

It comes at a time when the global auto industry is faltering, with sales falling. Global car sales are expected to fall by about 3.1m units in 2019, worse than during the 2008 financial crisis, according to projections from the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.

Looking at the market performance of Renault, the financial statements of the decline in the data let Renault into the mire. In the first half of 2019, Renault group revenue was 28.05 billion euros, down 6.4 percent year-on-year. Revenue fell 5.0% in the first half of the year at fixed exchange rates and operating areas. Renault's first-half operating margin was 5.9% to 1.654 billion euros, compared with 1.914 billion euros last year. In the first half of 2019, Renault's global sales fell 6.7 percent to 1.94 million vehicles.

Sales, Renault group, Volkswagen siat,

By region, Renault's sales in Europe were roughly flat compared with the same period last year. In Africa, the Middle East and India, Renault's sales fell 27.7 per cent; In Europe and Asia, including Russia, Renault group sales fell 5.2 per cent; In the americas, Renault's sales fell 3.9 per cent.

In China, Renault faces a Waterloo.

Like other legal system car, joint venture brand dongfeng Renault is also in a difficult situation. Dongfeng Renault sold just 12,811 vehicles in the first 10 months of the year, down 73 per cent from a year earlier, with monthly sales falling to 1,000 -- close to the monthly performance of some new car brands. Single product structure, weak price competitiveness, and lack of understanding of the Chinese market are the main reasons for dongfeng Renault's market weakness.

Sales, Renault group, Volkswagen siat,

Dongfeng Renault kraybin/dongfeng Renault official

02

The game between alliances

It is not only the pressure of corporate development, but also the conflict between alliances that has put Renault in trouble. Renault recently cut its 2019 revenue forecast by 3% to 4%.

In the 1990s, nissan lost money for seven years and was on the verge of bankruptcy. In 1999, Renault acquired a 43.3% stake in nissan through multiple operations to form the renault-nissan alliance.

The trouble was already well under way, with the then ailing nissan owning only 15% of Renault and Renault holding 43.4%. However, in the subsequent development, the development momentum of nissan far exceeds that of Renault, the power of discourse of both sides changes accordingly, the relationship becomes increasingly tense, and a game between the alliance is launched accordingly.

In 2018, before retiring, Mr Ghosn repeatedly talked about pushing for further integration at Renault. It may have struck a nerve at nissan with a radical internal restructuring and mid-level turnover. Hence the speculation that Mr Ghosn was arrested in Japan for "economic misconduct".

Some analysts believe that nissan has long planned. The quick ouster of Renault executives from nissan's board seems to confirm this. More "conspiracy theories" suggest that Mr Ghosn may have been a victim of franco-american relations, with the americans to blame. But either way, the company has broken its back.

Renault is considering selling down its stake in nissan motor co., bloomberg reported, in an effort to ease relations with the alliance as sales continue to fall and sales continue to suffer.

It is not just Renault itself that is turning things around.

Sales, Renault group, Volkswagen siat,

Nissan concept car/nissan official

The highlight moment of more than two decades for renault-nissan, once considered the most successful automotive alliance in automotive history, seems to be gone. Under constant pressure, the league has fallen into a state of "one club, one club".

In 2017, the year before ghosn's arrest, the alliance beat Volkswagen to become the world's largest automaker with sales of 10.61 million vehicles. In the first six months of this year, after two and a half years, the renault-nissan - mitsubishi alliance's sales fell to 5.213,000 vehicles, trailing Volkswagen and Toyota.

For nissan, the losses have also been severe. Sales in Japan, the us and Europe were falling in almost every major market except China, causing operating profit to plunge 99 per cent to y1.6bn, according to nissan's first-quarter report. In the first 10 months of this year, nissan sold 4.3 million vehicles globally, down 7.8% from a year earlier.

After the arrival of nissan's new chief executive, Makoto Uchida, the Japanese company also sent a signal to save the alliance. "nissan is on the right path to recovery," Uchida said. Mr Uchida also promised to re-form a dynamic alliance with Renault to end the chase for short-term profits.

To save the group, Renault will have to choose not only the right people to save the group, but also to repair the alliance.

Today, the renault-nissan alliance is still trying to lay out its technology, not to be left behind. On autonomous driving, for example, it has signed an exclusive deal with Waymo to form a partnership to develop driverless mobile travel services, using self-driving cars to transport passengers and goods in France and Japan.

But it is clear that a true firefighter is the key to resolving Renault's -- and the league's -- embarrassment.