Renault names Luca de Meo as new head of Ampere electric vehicle unit

PARIS: French carmaker Renault appointed on Monday its group chief executive Luca de Meo as the future chairman and CEO of Ampere, the electric vehicle division, which Renault is aiming to list on the stock market.

Renault added that its board of directors had also set up an ad-hoc committee, chaired by Jean-Dominique Senard, to oversee the envisaged initial public offering of Ampere.

Aside from the Ampere EV unit and the combustion engine division, Renault will have an additional three businesses - the Alpine sports-car brand, financial services and new mobility and recycling activities.

De Meo told investors last year that "we are creating independent businesses, focused on structurally more profitable activities, open to external investments, each of built around an indigenous set of technologies."

An early mover in the electric car race, Renault has fallen behind newer, more agile rivals like Tesla. After needing emergency state cash during the Covid pandemic, the group is looking to extend on a turnaround following losses in 2019 and 2020, and increase the valuation of its different parts.

The main plank of the car maker's strategy is separating its combustion engine business - which will partner with Geely in a 50-50 joint venture - from its electric vehicle unit.