Automobile company Renault unexpectedly got back on track. The CEO of the company, Luca de Meo, said that Renault had come 'back from hell'. Financial reports for the first six months of this year showed that the company's profit noticeably increased.
Net profit for the first half of the year totaled $368 mln, while during the same period last year, a loss of €7.4 bln was recorded. During the reporting period, 1.42 million cars were sold. Sales growth was 19% more than in 2020, but almost a quarter less than in the same pre-pandemic period in 2019. Assessing the interim results, de Meo proclaimed that the worst was over and the company had started earning again. He is confident that the profit growth will be stable despite the chip shortages and rising commodity prices. Some people see a direct link between the company's success and the work of Luca de Meo, who took over as head of Renault in July 2020. Previously, he was a member of the Supervisory Boards Ducati and Lamborghini, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Volkswagen Group in Italy, and held key positions in Toyota, Fiat, Volkswagen, and Audi. One of de Meo's most important steps was the decision to enter the Chinese market. Renault is not represented in China. This, according to the new head, the company gives in to such rivals as Volkswagen and Stellantis.
Last year, Renault announced plans to make a retrenchment of 15,000 workers worldwide and reduce production capacity by 20% to cut costs by €2 billion. Almost a third of employees in France will be out of work. The company's losses in 2020 amounted to €8 billion.
