Renault Ireland boss Eric Bassett discusses his ideas for the brand with MICHAEL MCALEER, Motoring Editor
ERIC BASSETT might be the second boss of Renault in Ireland after Bill Cullen, but in the public's mind the French brand is intrinsically coupled with the Dubliner. Part of that is down to Cullen's remaining involvement with the brand through his high profile dealerships. Part of it is down to the fact that you can't seem to avoid his patter, either on radio or TV, these days.
Yet Bassett doesn't seem to be interested in courting the public's attention. His focus is on transforming the brand into a top-three player in terms of sales and reforming the dealer network.
The other goal is to make Renault a pioneer in electric car ownership in Ireland. The fruit of that effort will be seen on our roads by the end of 2011. So far so good, as Renault looks set to become the first mainstream brand to have mainstream plug-in electric family cars on the Irish market.
What seemed like an electric pipedream is quickly becoming reality. Next year we're likely to see a new family car, the Fluence. Within months of its launch as a regular fossil-fuelled model, an all-electric version is due to go on sale. It could herald a revolution in Irish motoring.
That's for the medium term. In the short term, Bassett's efforts are focused on strengthening Renault's position in the Irish market. The immediate attention is on the firm's scrappage scheme and bolstering sales in this extremely tough environment. "We have a business plan that's based on overall sales of about 70,000 vehicles a year, across all brands in the Irish market, for the next few years. Renault deserves more than its current 4 per cent share."
Part of the effort is not just to support dealers through the national campaign. Renault has also been providing complete new car stocking finance since summer. It removes a major cost for dealers and has significantly reduced costs. "Our new car stock levels in the State have fallen from 4,000 new vehicles to just 200 in the network."
He also promises that whatever the Budget brings, the current Renault scrappage deal will run until January 31st. If a government scrappage scheme is introduced then customers will benefit from both the official scheme and the Renault offer.
"You can't wait around and react to what the government or others will do. We have to take our future into our hands.
"People are no longer being led by emotion: rationality is now the deciding factor for customers and they see that scrappage makes sense. Scrappage deals appeal to rational people."
Renault plans to have two electric cars on the market by 2012 - a plug-in electric version of the upcoming Fluence and an electric Kangoo model.
"This is not just some symbolic gesture on our part - we really believe in the electric vehicle (EV) future and want to take a customer approach to our EV models. So we will have models that fit the different needs of customers, from city cars to larger saloons. But what of the dealer network selling them?
"Yes the overall market is suffering from over-supply in terms of dealerships. We will be renegotiating our dealer network contracts from June next year. This is a low margin market that survived through high volumes. With sales volumes down and prices so competitive, you have to find a way of making dealerships viable businesses."
There are 31 dealers in the network and Bassett will not be drawn on what that number might be in three years time.. "Our business plan sets targets for 2012. The goal is that we must be number one in customer satisfaction by then. That means not just sales figures but aftersales satisfaction. Three years from now I want us in the top three in terms of sales."
That's a pretty ambitious goal for a brand that languishes in ninth position in the market with a four per cent share.
While his predecessor Bill Cullen makes much of his frontline sales experience, Bassett also has experience at the coalface. He joined Renault in 1991 and his first foreign posting was in Spain in 1992. After three years he returned to France as an area manager in Nancy until mid-1997 when he was assigned to Renault's south-east Asian representative office based in Singapore. During his time there the French brand laid the groundwork for its alliance with Japanese brand Nissan. He also witnessed the collapse of the Thai economy. "We witnessed the collapse but also preparations for its recovery." While the situation there was considerably worse than our predicament, he says there are lessons we can learn.
Upon his return to France he ran a company-owned dealership for four years. With a €40 million turnover, it employed 90 staff and had annual sales of 1,400 new and 1,500 used cars. That's more than half of what Renault hopes to sell in Ireland this year, and from one dealership.
While it means that Basset has forecourt experience, it's his time as Renault boss for Switzerland that perhaps offers the best insight into his role as head of a national operation. When he arrived, Renault was sixth in the list of best-selling brands, with over 30 dealers. When he left earlier this year they held third position, despite a downturn in overall new car sales, and with 12 main dealerships.
He doesn't see a direct comparison with the markets nor the dealer situation, but does expect changes in the coming months. "There is a preference in Ireland for local dealerships and proximity is important, but not at any price.
"The dealer/customer relationship is incredibly strong. Customer satisfaction is the primary goal and while my job is to provide the dealers with quality products and support, they have to work in partnership with us. It's a far closer relationship than simply us as a supplier."
That may mean further investment requirements from dealers. "Investments made in the past brought the network up to the required level but there is a demand for constant improvement and that will mean more investment in the coming years. Those who invest during a crisis reap the rewards later on."
