RENAULT has appointed Duncan Minto as its interim chief executive until it names a permanent successor to Luca de Meo, who stepped down this month.

Mr Minto is currently the chief finance officer of Renault Group. He will now oversee the day-to-day operations of the company in close collaboration with Jean-Dominique Senard, who will serve as chair of the group’s operating company during the transition period.

Duncan Minto

A career finance executive with Renault since 1997, Mr Minto began his career with Renault Group in the UK in 1997 before moving to its finance department in France in 2001, where he led investor relations.

He went on to serve as finance director of Renault-Nissan Portugal in 2006, managing director of Renault Ireland in 2012, and CFO of the group’s Asia-Pacific region in 2013.

In 2017, he was appointed VP of finance, group control analysis. He later became CFO of Dacia in 2022, then CFO of Alpine in 2023.

On March 1, 2025, he assumed the role of chief finance officer of Renault Group and joined the group’s leadership team.

The French car-maker said the recruitment process for a new CEO is well advanced.

Renault Group is expected to present its half-year financial results on July 31. In preliminary financial figures for the first half of 2025, Renault last week reported a small rise in revenue to €27.6 billion ($A49.2b), up 2.5 per cent compared to last year. Its operating profit margin stood at 6 per cent, and it generated €47 million ($A83.7b) in free cashflow.

It has revised its full-year expectations for the current financial year, now aiming for a slightly lower profit margin of around 6.5 per cent, down from its earlier goal of at least seven per cent, and expects to generate between €1 billion ($A1.8b)and €1.5 billion ($A2.67b) in free cash-flow – less than the €2 billion ($A3.56b) previously targeted.