Renault CEO: Diesel Is Old Tech, No Going Back

Renault's boss Luca De Meo has said very clearly that diesel is an old thing and Renault will not put money into diesel anymore. He says Renault will bring 7 new cars but none of them will have diesel. De Meo thinks if you go back to diesel, you are not moving forward, you are going backwards. The whole world is going towards electric and hybrid cars and diesel is old. He says diesel has hurt the whole car industry because of the emissions problem that happened before. Renault wants to go ahead, not go back.

De Meo says Renault is now number 2 in Europe for selling hybrid cars with 16 percent - only below Toyota. So instead of diesel, Renault is doing only two things - electric cars and hybrid cars - and these will be in all new cars, big or small. This is Renault's clear message - the future is electric and hybrid, there is no room for old diesel anymore.

RENAULT'S BIG SHIFT: FROM DIESEL DUSTER TO NEW STRATEGY

Renault is doing something totally new in India now. The company wants to bring 7 new cars by 2030, and they will make them on two special platforms just for India. These cars will be all kinds - small cheap ones and big SUVs, all different types. But this is not how Renault used to work. Before, Renault's whole business in India was about the diesel Duster. The old Duster was a massive hit - it sold about 200,000 cars and 90 out of 100 of those were diesel. The diesel engine was everything for Renault. It made Renault famous. People bought Duster because the diesel was cheap to run and you could rely on it. But in 2020 everything stopped. New pollution rules came and the diesel engine had to go away. Duster sales dropped like a rock. Even after they made it look new, it sold only 3,000 cars in the last year. So now Renault is completely changing. They are making new cars with new fuel types like petrol and hybrid. They are not using diesel anymore. This shows how crazy the car business is changing. Companies have to change everything when the rules change. Renault learned that the hard way with Duster.

RENAULT'S NEW CARS WILL RUN ON YOUR CHOICE - PETROL, CNG, HYBRID OR ELECTRIC

Diesel is dying in the overall car market - it is only 18.5 percent now - but in midsize SUVs it is still alive and kicking. Here, diesel has around 40 percent of all sales. That is a lot. Last year even, diesel sales grew by 10 percent, so buyers are still coming for it. This is why Renault's decision is really bold. They are saying no to a market where 4 out of 10 buyers want diesel. That is free money they are leaving on the table. But Renault doesn't want to be just another diesel car company fighting with Mahindra and Tata. They want to be the best at hybrid cars instead. Yes, it is risky - what if nobody buys their hybrids? But Renault thinks being number one at hybrid is better than being number five at diesel. This is what smart companies do sometimes - they give up quick money today to make bigger money tomorrow with something new.

RENAULT TO FOCUS ON HYBRIDS, CNG, EV AND FLEX FUEL

Renault is not putting all its eggs in one basket anymore. The company has decided to focus on many different fuel options to give Indian buyers choices. First, Renault is pushing CNG cars because many Indian families like cheap fuel options. Second, they are bringing strong hybrid cars which give you good mileage like diesel did but are cleaner. Third, Renault is working on electric vehicles - their first EV called Bridger SUV is coming in late 2027. Fourth, the company is also looking at flex-fuel cars which can run on ethanol, something they learned from their business in Brazil. Why is Renault doing this? Because by 2032, about 60 percent of cars will be petrol, 20 percent CNG, and only 20 percent will be hybrid or electric. So instead of betting everything on one fuel type, Renault wants to have something for everyone. They have built two new platforms that can handle petrol, CNG, hybrid, and electric cars. This way they can launch different models without spending too much money and can change their plans quickly if market wants something else.