Personnel Articles

RENAULT Australia has welcomed back Victor Ly as its new product manager for light-commercial vehicles as the company works on strengthening its position in the segment with new van models and, eventually, its long-anticipated pick-up.

The appointment marks a return to the Australian subsidiary of the French brand for Mr Ly, who previously worked for Renault for more than five years in the product planning department.

In 2018, he moved to Toyota Australia, where he served as a product specialist working on programs such as the heavily upgraded HiLux ute.

“We are very happy to welcome back Victor to the Renault family,” said Renault Australia managing director Anouk Poelmann.

“He brings a wealth of experience to a brand that is a global leader in LCVs. With some exciting new product on the horizon, Victor will be a valuable addition and a key player in our future plans.”

A Renault spokesperson said Mr Ly’s duties will focus on “supporting the management of end-to-end model lifecycle product plans for LCV vehicles in the local market”.

“This will include market research, data analysis, upstream planning, pricing and positioning, as well as ongoing lifecycle management,” he said.

As GoAuto has reported, Renault recently announced wide-ranging changes to its Australian product portfolio, axing all passenger cars bar its image-leading Renault Sport Megane performance model and instead following market trends to prioritise its SUV line-up and light-commercial vehicle range.

The company hopes the latter will include the second-generation Alaskan ute that will enable a long-anticipated entrance into the popular pick-up segment and strengthen its LCV stable that spans the Kangoo, Trafic and Master vans.

The redesigned Alaskan is likely to be a prospect for launch in 2022, following new-generation utes from alliance partners Mitsubishi (with Triton) and Nissan (with Navara) which are well in development and will share bodies as well as basic architecture.

Renault has in recent months upgraded its three van model lines and further added value with improved ownership benefits, such as five-year capped price servicing and, announced this week, a permanent five-year warranty for its LCV range after a successful trial period.

By Terry Martin

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