(Bloomberg) -- Renault SA set goals for improving profitability over several years and extended cost-cutting plans as Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo laid out his vision for turning around the struggling French carmaker.
The company is targeting a more than 3% group operating margin by 2023 and a return of at least 5% two years later, according to a statement Thursday. This compares with 4.8% in 2019, before the manufacturer racked up record losses in the midst of the pandemic.
Renault also bolstered its plans to lower costs, targeting a 2.5 billion-euro ($3 billion) reduction by 2023 and 5 billion-euro cut by 2025. In May of last year, the company said it would aim for 2 billion euros through 2022.
De Meo, who joined Renault six months ago from Volkswagen AG, is in a race to stem record losses at Renault to better navigate declining vehicle sales from the pandemic and expensive shift to electric vehicles. The Italian-born brand specialist has inherited a bloated factory footprint and stable of brands that a cost-cutting plan unveiled in May began to address.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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