Stephane Deblaise to take the helm of Renault’s struggling India operations
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French carmaker Renault announced on Monday that Renault veteran Stephane Deblaise has been appointed the CEO of Renault Group in India , effective September 1, at a time when it holds less than 1% market share in the world’s third-largest automobile market by volumes.
Venkatraman Mamillapalle, currently the managing director of Renault India Private Limited, Mamillapalle will support Deblaise on corporate affairs in India, to help, according to Renault, “structure the group’s mid-term growth strategy in the region.” Over a period of two decades, Deblaise has held several key positions across Renault’s global operations, most recently the CEO of Renault Korea, where Deblaise was responsible for positioning the company as a global development and production hub for mid- and large-sized vehicles and modernising the Busan plant for multi-energy vehicle production.
Deblaise’s appointment comes at a time when the French carmaker remains unfazed, despite its market share, which has dropped to less than 1% even after 14 years of operations. Doubling down on its commitment to India, Renault bought out its global alliance partner Nissan’s 51% stake in Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd to take over full ownership of the manufacturing plant in Chennai.
It has also set a “drop-dead date” of 2030 to increase its market share to 5%, or produce about 4.8 lakh units annually; otherwise, the carmaker will not be able to manage the plant. In FY25, with an ageing portfolio, Renault India’s sales fell 17% year-over-year to 38,636 units, bringing its market share down from 1.18% in FY24 to 0.93% in FY25.
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However, the carmaker has said that it is on a correction course, with its future strategy, with plans to launch five cars over the next two years. These include an electric vehicle and the new Duster, marking its re-entry into the mid-size SUV segment. Soon after its launch in 2012 in India, the Duster became a runaway success—bringing the mid-size SUV segment to India—before it was discontinued in 2022.
“We will now play in the bigger segment of ₹20 lakh, doubling the revenue stream,” Venkatram Mamillapalle, Country CEO and Managing Director at Renault India, told Fortune India in April. Currently, Renault only has products in the sub-₹10 lakh segment. “Once we have all these five products in the market, we should touch 3% share.”
The French carmaker, which has sold about a million cars in the country cumulatively, is also exploring strong hybrid cars for India. According to Manillapalle, electrification will take time. Today it is less than 2%. Over the next 7-8 years, the growth rate is expected to be 10-12%. It depends on the ecosystem and how the government utilises charging stations. “We intend to bring hybrids to India.”