The French carmaker Renault is promising to revolutionize its business model with a 'Renaulution' of new measures, including a greater focus on electric cars and a strategic shift from volume to value.

"We grew bigger, but not better," said Renault chief executive Luca de Meo, who joined the company last year after running Volkswagen's Seat division.

The global automotive industry is facing a challenging time as a result of plunging demand during the pandemic, environmental concerns and a generational shift towards ride-hailing and car-sharing rather than ownership.

Renault has also faced a crisis in management with the company's former chief executive turned fugitive, Carlos Ghosn, fleeing to Lebanon from Japan in 2018 after facing charges of financial misconduct. Ghosn, who was also in charge of Renault's Japanese partner Nissan, denies the allegations.

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By contrast, the electric carmaker Tesla continues to go from strength to strength, with its shares rocketing by more than 700 percent last year.

The legendary British motoring journalist Peter Lorimer, also known as 'Honest John' in his Daily Telegraph column, says Renault is a different story.

"He [de Meo] wanted Seat to become the automotive equivalent of Apple Mac, so he's still got that in his mind," said Lorimer. "I just don't understand how that's going to be accomplished with Renault.

"It's not like Tesla – that was a battery company that makes cars, it's not that way round. This is a car company. It's got to get more advanced and make more money but I don't know how he's going to manage to accomplish that."

Lorimer credits Renault with a "fantastic revival in terms of product," with its cars now much more reliable than they were before, but he says Tesla is a completely different experience from what people are used to.

"The first Tesla I got into, you've got a great big screen and you drive the car by the screen," he added. "People have taken to it and Tesla are selling very, very well."