Renault boss Luca de Meo is the perfect candidate to take over the helm at Stellantis

Luca de Meo is a man who sticks to his promises. He agreed to meet me for 10 minutes at the Paris Motor Show to discuss his formal induction into The Motoring Hall of Fame and one or two other car-related matters. And meet me he did. 

Here’s a bloke with an auto industry track record that few, if any, of his contemporaries can match. He’s enjoyed top jobs at Fiat, Toyota, Volkswagen and other places besides. Now, as Renault Group CEO and chief architect of the game-changing “Renaulution” strategic plan, he’s probably the most productive, versatile and sought after leader in the industry. 

His company; his all-new and deeply impressive Renault, Alpine, Dacia and Mobilize models; and he, personally, were the undisputed stars of the Paris show. Stellantis Group’s best-known French brands – Peugeot and Citroen – put up only token resistance. 

No wonder de Meo was buzzing, in rude health and retaining his sense of humour, too. A small, but revealing, example of this was when he arrived late for his one-to-one with me, before unashamedly blaming “the president” for his delayed arrival.  “Would that be the president of the show?” I innocently asked. “No, that would be President Macron,” he assured me. “I even tried to sell him some cars,” he added. 

And if he, Luca, was buying a car for himself or a family member right now, which of its show stars would it be – the R5 or its slightly larger, pricier brother, the R4?

“I’d go for both,” he replied, quick as a flash. Like me, Luca de Meo seemingly subscribes to the view that there’s no need to spend, say, £55k, on one, slightly stale, overpriced electric car from a rival when two cool, cutting-edge Renault EVs can be had for the same money.

By the time he was presented with his Motoring Hall of Fame award, he seemed genuinely chuffed, politely asked if it was really his to keep and insisted he’d like to take it home – before reminding himself that he can’t, because his wife tells him not to bring work-related stuff into the family house. You couldn’t make this stuff up. And I’m not. 

Apart from a motor industry track record that speaks for itself, his inspirational qualities have inspired me to do something I’ve never done before: contact a bookie. I’m betting on Luca de Meo succeeding struggling Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who’s just volunteered – or been forced to announce? – his retirement by 2026. Or sooner, I suspect.

This opens the door for de Meo, a proud Italian, to succeed him and do for the Stellantis family’s Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Abarth and Lancia brands (not forgetting GB’s Vauxhall, of course) what he’s already done with remarkable success for Renault and Dacia. The Renault Group still needs him. But Stellantis and those legendary Italian brands
back in the old country need him even more.

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