Renault CEO: Splitting electric car business has huge potential

According to foreign media reports, Groupe Renault 's plan to split itselectric vehicledivision from its traditional combustion engine business is not only promising, but also has potential, CEO Luca de Meo told shareholders on May 25."Correcting the Group's Valuation".Instead of splitting the company in two, the plan, he said, would create two separate entities, each with about 10,000 employees, and a possible partnership in the combustion engine business.

Renault is rethinking how to include combustion-engine vehicles in its future strategic plans to keep pace with Tesla and other "homegrown electric" car makers.Renault's electric vehicle business will be centered in France, while its internal combustion engine business will be conducted outside France, where most of Renault's non-electric vehicles are produced.

Luca de Meo said, "All the investigations and studies we have done have proved that the electric vehicle business has huge potential." He added, "All options are still being discussed." It has received several offers for cooperation in its combustion engine business.The company will announce more d etails in September.

Image credit: Renault

In addition to this, shareholders approved Luca de Meo's 2021 compensation package worth 4.74 million euros ($5.06 million).Luca de Meo's fixed compensation is 1.3 million euros; variable compensation is 1.89 million euros, just below the 150% cap of base salary; long-term compensation is 75,000 performance shares, which will be worth about 155% at the end of 2021 million euros.In 2022, Luca de Meo will revise its variable pay scale, replacing CO2 compliance with the sales penetration of Renault electric vehicles.

Thierry Bollore, former CEO of Renault, was paid less, including a fixed salary of 900,000 euros (up to 125% of base salary) and 50,000 performance shares.

Following the arrest of Carlos Ghosn, Renault separated the functions of chief executive and chairman, with former Michelin group chief Jean-Dominique Senard serving as Renault chairman since 2019.Senard will be paid 450,000 euros in 2021.