Renault COO Carlos Tavares steps down

Renault's Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares, touted to be next in line to succeed Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, has stepped down from his position at the French automaker, in a surprising move of sorts. Mr Tavares was recently interviewed by Bloomberg, during the course of which he noted that "Mr Ghosn is here to stay".

This statement is being considered as an allusion to Carlos Ghosn continuing to lead the Renault-Nissan alliance, not giving up his position for newer executives to lead just as yet. Also, Mr Tavares, in reply to a question, noted that he would be privileged to lead a company like General Motors. GM has since denied that Mr Tavares is heading to its fold. 

Mr Tavares' statements were greeted with derision from Renault's unionized workers, who feel that the Mr Tavares has lost credibility after his recent interview. Mr Ghosn is 59 and Mr Tavares is 55, with no succession plan yet in place at Renault-Nissan. The exit of Mr Tavares paves the way for younger executives to assume higher leadership positions at the French car maker. 

Mr Tavares' exit comes at a time when Renault is facing a sales slump in Europe while Nissan is doing relatively better. Also, the Renault-Nissan alliance has extended its tie up to share platforms, parts and production facilities through the Common Module Family (CMF) architecture. Mr Tavares joined Renault in 1981, as a road test engineer. Of Portuguese origin, he is also an active race car driver. 

For its part, Renault has stated that Mr Ghosn will take over Mr Tavares' duties for the short term. It remains unclear as to whether the French automaker would leave the position unfilled or whether it would do away with the position altogether. Fresh reportage on Bloomberg suggests that Mr Tavares had asked for a wider role at Renault, and that this was not granted by Mr Ghosn, who is said to have asked Mr Tavares to continue in his role as a chief operating officer. 

Notably, many other car makers across the globe are due for changes at the very top. Ford Motor Company's Alan Mullaly is 68 and the American car maker is said to have a succession plan in place. General Motors's Daniel Akerson, 64, is also due for replacement. Recently, Tata Motors appointed Cyrus Mistry as its chairman, upon the retirement of previous group chairman Ratan Tata. 

Image courtesy MotorPasion