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Costello, who comes from the Volkswagen Group, most recently as national fleet manager at Cupra and Seat UK, joins as there’s a real push for fleet. We ask what his plans are for the rest of this year, focusing on the dual strategies for ICE and EV models in key segments,? He says: “My position is with the Renault Group, so I look after Renault car, Renault van, Dacia, and Alpine. So, I must have a view across all those product areas. With Renault cars, with the Renaulution strategy that Luca de Meo put into place a couple of years ago, we’re at a new, exciting part of the strategy, where loads of new products are arriving in a short period of time. We’re building towards Renault 5 next year, which is an absolute zenith of focus. Then Scenic – which is on sale now – is hugely important in the company car space, with salary sacrifice. Rafale arrives this month with hybrid and plug-in hybrid options, which will be massively important for us as well.
“The exciting part is not just the range of products that are coming to market, but also our focus in fleet. On top of me joining in March, in the last six months we’ve added a public sector manager, a new fleet operations manager and three virtual account managers. Alongside strengthening the team, our approach within the fleet industry is really ramping up. On top of volume aspirations with the new models, we’re making sure we’re attending the right events, we’ve got the right customer relations in place, and now it really feels like we’re back, with the Renault range really focused on the fleet sector.
“Our hybrid range is perfect for those on the stepping stone to EV. For instance, the Clio is a perfect example; it’s the benchmark small car. It has won loads of awards recently, and we’re seeing some great traction with it. If you don’t want an electric vehicle, a small hybrid or even petrol passenger car is perfect. Similarly, the pure hybrid Captur is doing well. Austral, with its 60mpg fuel economy figure, is on par with where we used to see a diesel product – the progress is incredible.
“EVs are critical to Renault, but we’ve got something in every category – whether it’s ICE, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or full electric.”
Setting the Scenic
We go on to ask if product awareness is a key point for fleets – especially with a new, all-electric Scenic coming to market? Costello says: “One of the interesting things about Scenic is how Renault are positioning it as a good family car that just happens to be electric. Its incredible range of up to 379 miles means it can be used by most people like any petrol car. It is the perfect product to build on the base established by Megane EV and really widen the appeal of EVs into the mainstream.
“The Scenic’s tech, interior space, and the range are attractive – and they all add up to create a great family car, that will fit within people’s lives. It’s about so much more than its powertrain.”
Costello believes most fleet customers will go for the long-range Scenic, in Techno, or Esprit Alpine trim. But, for salary sacrifice, people might want the lower-range battery, which delivers up to 260 miles per charge. He says: “It depends on what type of driving they’ll be doing. If they’re doing motorway all day long, long range is great. If they’re mostly doing urban miles, the lower-range battery might be perfect.
“I think we can cover both mid and high-level markets with Scenic. With mid, we’ve got some great trims, introduced at a great price. It will be brilliant for salary sacrifice, so I think we’ll be in that area. With the range-topping Iconic, we’ve got a really, strong product that can go up against the Tesla Model Y – I think it can go toe to toe in that space. With the clear and simple product range that we’ve got, we can work in different segments.
“Scenic is going to be an exciting one for us, as segments, brands, and models are not where they used to sit with electric vehicles – it has been really mixed up. I don’t think we need to be constrained by segments anymore, I think we can look at what fits for the right person, at the right time, for the right use.
“What stands out for Renault is heritage – we’ve got years and years of expertise in these areas. Also, we’ve got a great retail network able to support customers nationwide, and a support infrastructure in place both centrally and with our partners.
“From a fleet point of view, we’ve gone out to market with terms, attended lots of events, put in plenty of training both for our partners, and established key accounts with leasing companies. We’re trying to make sure people drive the product, as the models that may have been associated with Renault five years ago, are not the cars on offer today.”
Costello believes Scenic customers will mainly be conquest because they’ve not been in the C-SUV segment previously. He says: “So many knew Scenic as a fantastic family vehicle, but I think we’re going to move into a new customer base. There will be some that move up from Megane, but I think it’s largely going to be new customers particularly interested in that large SUV experience.”
TCO the key
With so much new product coming so quickly, we ask Costello if this makes it easier to offer solutions in key sectors to fleet customers? He says: “Ultimately, it is about getting the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) right. Get that sorted and your products are attractive from the get-go. After that it’s about the whole package, for instance, the technology we have, the fact we’ve got our support network behind us and so on makes the difference.
“Having models in all the sectors of the market is giving us a key advantage, from a Renault Group point of view. I can offer them everything from an affordable, well-specced Dacia, through to class-leading Renaults across a diverse range of models. Adding the Symbioz is another opportunity – and then there’s the Renaults 5 and 4 on the way. Our credibility with fleet currently is incredibly strong.
“When you pull all of that together, Renault Group has a compelling end-to-end solution – the leasing companies find this particularly useful.”