Renault boss Carlos Ghosn on Kadjar, Alpine and more new models

“That’s hard to say. We’ve tested it with customers and distributors and the response has been extremely strong. It reminds us of the response we had to its sister, the Captur crossover, before that model went on sale. And as you know, Captur now leads its class in France and across Europe.

“What I can say is that Kadjar will be great at competing with our rivals. It shares a common platform with Qashqai, and this means we can compete with the world’s biggest car companies. Our competitiveness in terms of investment and parts cost should be close to the best.”

How important is the Kadjar’s styling to its success?

“It’s vital. This game will be played on the attractiveness of the product. We believe Kadjar has the same styling appeal as Captur, but we have no customers yet, so we can’t be certain. With Captur, we had very good feedback, but it was nothing compared with what we have achieved in sales.”

Do you believe the crossover market will last?

“It will remain strong. These models offer great versatility, and all our research tells us people really enjoy that. Whether the trend will last 10 or 15 years I can’t say, but for the foreseeable future — which means the next four or five years — we think demand will be strong, not just in Europe but around the world. Cars like these make up one sale in four across the world, and one in three in China.”

How are recent currency shifts affecting your companies?

“The volatility began two years ago, and the effect then was negative on both our revenues and our income. Even though the euro has recently moved ‘the right way’ against the pound and dollar, we’re still in adverse territory because of really large declines in Russia and Argentina.”

How bad are things in Russia?

“Everyone is hurting. The market was down 11 per cent last year and is forecast to drop another 20 per cent this year. That’s a third of it, gone in two years. People usually scream when there’s a four or five per cent decline, so you can see just how bad it is. But we will adapt. The potential of Russia is still there. We must maintain a readiness for the take-off that is coming. It is just a matter of time.”

Nissan and Renault are 
great supporters of electric cars. What’s your current view of the market?   

“I’m predicting steady growth from present levels. At first, we were impatient for bigger sales than we see today, but I still believe the market will pick up, little by little. Sales will accelerate from time to time 
as emissions laws, which are only going in one direction, tighten further.

“Technically, electric cars are a big success. They are accepted worldwide and they’re the only serious option as zero-emissions vehicles. Other alternatives lack maturity and cost-effectiveness. So I believe the EV is going in the right direction.”

Do you need to have more electric models?

“We don’t believe it’s a question of adding more cars, although the models we make have a natural lifecycle, so you’ll see them being renewed. Our advantage is that we were first in the sector. We have the best understanding of the market and lots of knowledge about how people actually 
use electric cars.”