[CEO Rivals] Building New Cars, Managing Domestic Sales... Similar Yet Different Foreign Auto CEOs

Korea GM President Roberto Rempel
Renault Korea President Stephan De Vleesch
Common Background as New Car Development Engineers
Mission to Enhance and Utilize Competitiveness of Korean Operations
Seeking Solutions to Revive Sluggish Domestic Market

Korea GM and Renault Korea Motors share many similarities in various aspects. Both started as domestic automakers but went through ups and downs before being taken over by foreign capital. They also share the situation of being entrusted with challenging special missions from their headquarters while operating in a tough domestic market.

Roberto Rempel, president of Korea GM who took office last year, and St?phane Deblaise, president of Renault Korea Motors, have in common that they are CEOs with expertise in new car development. The fact that global automakers have appointed engineer-turned CEOs to their Korean operations, considered strategic strongholds, reflects the situations of both companies well. The upcoming new vehicles hold significant meaning not only for the Korean operations but also for GM and Renault headquarters. Deblaise, who just turned 50, is an active outdoorsman who enjoys hiking and trekking. In contrast, Rempel, approaching 60, is a scholar who still takes online courses at overseas universities.

Roberto Rempel, GM Korea Plant President, emphasized the importance of quality for the Trax, which began mass production at the Changwon plant on the 24th of last month.

President Rempel has lived in Korea longer than any other foreign CEO who has worked at the company, including during the GM Daewoo era. Since 2015, he led the development of compact sport utility vehicles (SUVs) as a senior engineer at Korea GM. Later, from 2019, he served as the inaugural CEO of GM Technical Center Korea (GMTCK), the R&D subsidiary spun off from Korea GM, for three years and four months. After being appointed president of Korea GM in June last year, the first place he visited was the Bupyeong plant, which was preparing for new car production at the time. GM decided to invest over 1 trillion won to upgrade new car production facilities at its Korean plants in Bupyeong and Changwon. The Trax, Trailblazer, Korea GM’s main export models, as well as the recently launched Trax crossover, were all developed under Rempel’s leadership.

Before taking office in March last year, President Deblaise was the director of advanced projects and cross-car line programs at Renault headquarters. He also served as the chief engineer overseeing vehicle development in South American markets such as Brazil and Colombia. One of his first actions as president was to remove "Samsung" from the company name and replace it with "Korea." He also redesigned the company’s CI typhoon logo to be simpler and more modern. The appointment of an engineer specializing in new car development as president is proof of the importance of upcoming new vehicles at the Korean operations.

Stephan Deleze, President of Renault Korea, is making a presentation at an internal event with employees on the 23rd of last month.

Renault is strengthening multifaceted cooperation with Geely, China’s largest private automaker. In May last year, Geely acquired a 34% stake in Renault Korea Motors. Renault Korea Motors plans to use the platform and hybrid system developed by Volvo, in which Geely holds shares, for its new vehicles currently under development. The goal is to launch new models in 2024. Renault Korea Motors has the largest R&D center among all Renault operations worldwide, excluding the French headquarters, enabling it to carry out the entire vehicle development process independently.

While GM holds a strong market share in North America with larger vehicles, Renault has strengths in Europe and South America with smaller cars. Because of these characteristics, the significance of new vehicles developed at the Korean operations is special from different perspectives. GM expects Korea GM to maintain competitiveness in small car production, while Renault looks to Renault Korea Motors for competitiveness in larger vehicle segments.

At last month's GMC new car launch event, Roberto Rempel, President of GM Korea, is explaining the vehicle.

Both presidents share the long-term mission of new car development, but their immediate focus is on recovering their severely diminished domestic market shares. Last year, Korea GM’s share of the domestic passenger car market was 3.2%, while Renault Korea Motors held 4.5%. Korea GM used to produce 800,000 to 900,000 vehicles annually and consistently sold over 100,000 units domestically until the 2000s. Last year, sales fell to less than 40,000 units. Renault Korea Motors’ domestic sales last year were 52,621 units, less than half of its peak sales period.

With no notable new vehicles to promote and demand expected to sharply decline due to interest rates and inflation, a rebound is not an easy task. President Rempel has proposed a plan to evenly introduce new vehicles from various GM brands. At a briefing in January, he said, "It is a two-track strategy to sell both imported and domestically produced vehicles simultaneously," adding, "The priority is to reach an annual production of 500,000 units and fully utilize our production facilities." President Deblaise, in a joint declaration with the labor union on the 27th of last month, said, "Let us work together to make the Busan plant a global hub for the mid-size and near-luxury segments within the Renault Group."

Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group (left), and St?phane Deblaise, President of Renault Korea, are answering questions at a meeting held in October last year. It was the first time the CEO of Renault Group visited Korea.