Luca de Meo’s departure from Renault’s management team came as a complete surprise. Many employees were completely baffled by the decision. What consequences will this have for the group? Business newspapers are attempting to come up with plausible scenarios for Renault’s future. And what about design? It’s a question worth asking, given the close relationship between Luca de Meo and Gilles Vidal, Renault’s design director.
Let us recall that Luca de Meo’s arrival at the helm of the Renault group in 2020 and the formation of the giant Stellantis in 2021 led to multiple transfers between the two automotive giants. These transfers spanned engineering and design, with numerous departures and arrivals reshaping the organisational charts of the two automotive groups’ design teams. The most high-profile transfer was undoubtedly that of Gilles Vidal, who moved from Peugeot’s design department to Renault’s.
But there were many others: Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos from Dacia to Alfa Romeo, François Leboine from Renault (below) to Fiat, Helène Veilleux, Romain Gauvin and Raphaël le Masson from Citroën to Dacia. No fewer than ten designers from Stellantis joined the Renault group. Citroën and the Peugeot Design Lab at the time were also depleted…
With Luca de Meo now set to leave – effective 15 July – should we fear further transfers at a time when Stellantis, a competitor, has appointed Antonio Filosa as its new CEO? Will history repeat itself? Industries operate in cycles whose pace they do not always control.
If we look at it from a purely design perspective, it is clear that Luca de Meo has a strong influence and has always been the decision-maker for the various design teams within the Renault group: the eponymous brand, but also Alpine, Dacia and Mobilze. And it’s no secret that the connection between Luca de Meo (above) and Gilles Vidal has always been strong, reminiscent in some ways of the relationship between the then Renault boss Louis Schweitzer and design boss Patrick Le Quément (below).
Unfortunately, these close ties were not entirely positive. During this period, Le Quément was criticised for becoming too close to President Schweitzer. Will Gilles Vidal now be left without a mentor who rolled out the red carpet for him when he left Peugeot, a brand that had previously been synonymous with Vidal, as seen below in the current generation of the 208?
Not at first glance, because the structure that has been put in place, particularly with Sandeep Bhambra (below), head of pre-production and concept cars, who followed Gilles Vidal from Peugeot to Renault, is solid. The same comment applies to Luca de Meo’s future replacement at the helm of the Renault Group. Let’s hope that his appointment takes less time than that of the boss of Stellantis!
However, designers are careerists like everyone else, or almost everyone else. And this is where a meaningful question arises. At the time of PSA, Gilles Vidal may have felt constrained at Peugeot, with no opportunity to climb higher and aim for Jean-Pierre Ploué’s position at the head of Stellantis Europe’s design department, but the situation has changed today.
The Stellantis option for Vidal still seems unlikely to come to fruition. However, Jean-Pierre Ploué had close ties with Carlos Tavares, with whom he successfully implemented some bold ideas, such as the revival of Lancia with a commando team initially made up of a few Frenchmen. But Tavares has left, so what does the future hold for the relationship with Stellantis’ new global management?
In addition, Jean-Pierre Ploué, born in 1962 and joined PSA at the end of 1999, is now 63 years old. The prime of life! ‘JPP’ could well continue on his path for a few more years… He is a passionate, committed man who is always brimming with ideas! He is also, above all, an outstanding manager, something that designers do not necessarily become. Finally, and this is not insignificant, Jean-Pierre Ploué is one of the world’s elite design directors, with the financial comfort that goes with it. And at his age, comfort is something to be appreciated!
However, a few bumps have slightly marred this smooth picture of an incredible merger between the three initials ‘JPP’ and the Stellantis group. The latest is the reorganisation of the Lancia design team (above with Luca Napolitano, Lancia’s director, on the right), where the Italians have regained control. Fortunately, the French team at Lancia has been able to bring the DNA back to Vélizy. With the arrival of Antonio Filosa, should we fear an Italianisation of Stellantis, with Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Maserati being given preferential treatment? Unlikely, as Stellantis’s playing field is above all global!
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For his part, Gilles Vidal has carte blanche at Renault (above, during the presentation of the Scénic Car of the Year 2024). And the least we can say is that this brand has been rolling out new models at a much faster pace than Peugeot. In the lion brand’s defence, the U-turn it made with its 100% EV platforms, which ultimately remain largely multi-energy, was time-consuming, delaying ongoing programmes by several months.
As for Luca de Meo, he himself recalled in his farewell message that in five years he had managed to put in place ‘a strong team, an agile organisation and a strategic plan ready to deliver the next generation of products. That is why I have decided that it is time for me to pass on the baton.’ At Renault, the design aspect of this strategic plan takes the form of the Emblème concept car above, designed by the Vidal-Bhambra duo, which embodies the design of all Renault models from 2026 to 2033.
And that is why we believe that Gilles Vidal should logically stay at Renault to experience this new generation of models. It will bear his mark and that of his team. And if he was unable to kill the father at PSA/Stellantis by succeeding Jean-Pierre Ploué, who was firmly entrenched on his throne, he is still offering himself the opportunity to take over from the excellent Laurens van den Acker at Renault (below with Gilles Vidal) in the medium term. Since Luca de Meo’s ‘Renaulution’ plan in 2021, Laurens has held the same role as Jean-Pierre Ploué, with one difference: he manages four brands within the group (Renault, Alpine, Dacia, Mobilize) compared to 14 in the Stellantis group. This led him to comment on our website that “life is more complicated with 14 children than with four, isn’t it?!”
Laurens van den Acker will indeed turn 60 on 5 September. But Laurens still has a lot to do, as he has a huge role to play with his various cross-functional responsibilities, including ensuring that the group’s design teams in all of its design centres around the world have access to the most advanced technical resources.
Ultimately, if there are any transfers between the two French groups’ design teams, they should be less intense than in 2020-2021. And one thing is certain: even without Luca de Meo, Gilles Vidal is likely to remain in France. The offers he turned down before leaving for Renault were for personal reasons, notably to remain in France. These offers came from major international manufacturers.
All designers will tell you that once you’ve finished revamping one or two product ranges, boredom can set in. It’s very tempting to start looking at the grass on the other side. But Gilles Vidal hasn’t yet experienced this famous complete range revamp at Renault with ‘his’ signature style. In fact, he’s right at the heart of this huge revamp. It would therefore be more rewarding for him to wait until this new range is established. This timing could also coincide with the retirement of Laurens van den Acker, mentioned above. So, is this the ideal time for Gilles Vidal to leave the ship? We don’t think so. But we also thought that Luca de Meo would still be head of the group after 15 July…
