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The name of Josep Maria Recasens is undoubtedly one of the most prominent at Renault, and for good reason: in 2021, he joins the head of the group , to lay the foundations and drive the manufacturer's strategy in the electric sector.
Only 2 years later, in June 2023, while Luca de Meo, the CEO of the company, announced the launch of the Ampere subsidiary dedicated to electricity, he appointed Josep Maria Recasens to the position of Chief Operating Officer, and Vincent Piquet to the position of Chief Finance Officer of the new entity, while taking on the role of CEO himself.
Who is Josep Maria Recasens?
His mission is significant: Luca de Meo has the ambition, through Ampere, to reduce the cost of manufacturing electric cars by 40% by 2027. Ampere must, ideally, not only stay in the increasingly competitive race in the electrical sector – but also establish yourself as a leader, at least on the European continent.
Josep Maria Recasens has several degrees and experience that make him one of the best in this position. He is basically an engineer, graduated from the University of Girona (Spain), specializing in industrial organization. Later he continued his studies towards a Master's degree in automotive engineering, delivered by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, as well as an MBA delivered by the ESADE Business School.
After this course, In 2002, he joined the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT, where he started in the R&D teams before climbing the ranks to management, where he held the positions of Director of Strategy, General Secretary and Director of Public Affairs of the group. In 2021, Renault is recruiting him for the position of Senior Vice President in charge of Strategy and Business Development.
Why this meteoric rise at Renault?
While he answers directly to Luca de Meo, it is he who implements the strategy put in place by the CEO – while helping to write the continuation of the group's transformation towards electric. At the start of 2023, Luca de Meo entrusted him with management of the markets on the Iberian Peninsula.
Before naming him, as we said, COO of Ampere, following its creation. On this occasion, Luca de Meo also named him a member of the “Leadership Team” which oversees the management of the strategic and operational management of all the activities of the Renault group.
According to the person concerned, this meteoric rise is the result of preparatory work carried out over the last two years to enable the new entity, Ampere, to benefit from an integrated electrical supply chain from the start.
Thanks to its action, Ampere can rely largely on the efforts already put in place, with the most striking example being the Hauts de France factory (which manufactures, among other things, the Megane E-TECH, the Electric Scenic or soon the electric Renault 5). 80% of this factory's suppliers are already located within a 300 km radius.
The major challenges awaiting Josep Maria Recasens at Ampere
In addition to reducing manufacturing costs, of which the Renault 5 should be the first examples from 2024, Josep Maria Recasens will have to help the group take real technological leadership. According to Renault, this involves exploring new battery technologies, such as sodium-ion batteries or Solid State batteries.
But also optimizing the efficiency of the platform to reach 90% and reduce the number of parts by around 30%. Josep Maria Recasens also has the mission of reducing the manufacturing time of each vehicle below 10 hours. As well as developing a new open software ecosystem for future Renaults.
In addition, as director of operations, he will also have to ensure that the customer experience is refined and improved. explore new technologies available to electric car manufacturers, improve the charging experience or even improve and develop the second-hand market and the resale value of the brand's electric cars.