► Renault Group’s board elects a new CEO
► Provost replaces Luca De Meo as group head
► He’s worked for Renault for 23 years
Renault Group has elected a new CEO: François Provost.
The automotive group released a statement, saying that the board elected Provost – a man who ‘has the qualities required to continue and accelerate the development of Renault Group.’
Provost has worked for Renault for 23 years, with his previous role being chief procurement, partnerships and public affairs officer. Provost says that, in this role, he helped set up the Ampere R&D department within the Group, as well as launch Horse Powertrains – the engine development firm that’s also part-owned by Geely.
In the statement announcing his arrival, Provost says: ‘I will dedicate all my energy and passion to contributing – alongside our 100,000 employees, our dealers, suppliers, and partners – to the development of our Group, one of the flagships of French industry for the past 127 years. You can count on my commitment and determination to write the next page of our history together.’
Provost replaces Luca de Meo, who led the Group to launch new models like the Renault 4 and Renault 5, Dacia’s Bigster and the expansion of the Alpine brand beyond the A110 sports car. De Meo left the Renault Group to lead Kering, the French group that owns a number of fashion brands.
The news comes as the group announces its financial results for the first half of 2025. The group reported 2.5 per cent growth in revenue, with €500m in net income. The report, however, flags how much Renault Group is being dogged by Nissan’s financial woes, claiming a €11.6bn ‘impact’ on its financials.
Provost will lead Renault Group to a further expansion of the Alpine brand, as well as launch a range of new models like the upcoming new Clio that’ll make its debut at the 2025 Munich motor show.
Jake has been an automotive journalist since 2015, joining CAR as Staff Writer in 2017. With a decade of car news and reviews writing under his belt, he became CAR's Deputy News Editor in 2020 and then News Editor in 2025. Jake's day-to-day role includes co-ordinating CAR's news content across its print, digital and social media channels. When he's not out interviewing an executive, driving a new car for review or on a photoshoot for a CAR feature, he's usually found geeking out on the latest video game, buying yet another pair of wildly-coloured trainers or figuring out where he can put another car-shaped Lego set in his already-full house.
By Jake Groves
CAR's news editor; gamer, trainer freak and serial Lego-ist