Business Lockdown: French Renault Ukraine executive wishes ‘bon courage’ to business

Editor’s Note: Ukraine’s businesses are struggling after the country introduced nationwide restrictions on movement and travel starting on March 12. The restrictions have been toughened since then and are set to last until at least April 24. Most businesses are closed with employees working remotely or not working at all. The exceptions include supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, parcel delivery services. The borders are closed to most forms of traffic, except Ukrainians returning by foot or by car. Most domestic transportation is closed or heavily restricted. Estimates range on how deeply the ensuing recession will harm Ukraine. The Kyiv Post talked with entrepreneurs about their daily struggles, asking how the quarantine has affected their ventures and what they are planning to do once it’s lifted.

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Francois Mariotte
Managing Director at Renault Ukraine, a subsidiary of French car manufacturer Renault. It has been operating in Ukraine since 2000. In 2019, it sold over 16,000 cars here, the biggest amount of new cars among automobile manufacturers.

“Before the COVID-19 crisis, the car market was constantly growing by 25%. In March, the car market in Ukraine decreased by 14% compared to last year. Renault managed to compensate market losses by high performance (in the past) with a 20% market share.

“In after-sales, it’s the same story: after a trend of 25% growth in February, (Renault Ukraine) finished March with a ‘shy growth’ of 3%.

“Despite the quarantine, our dealerships got authorization to keep on working in sales and after-sales. We have informed all our customers about it and asked them to come to repair and maintain their cars if needed. Our dealers have fully adapted their working processes in order to protect their employees and customers. Customers’ cars are cleaned and sanitized before giving them back to their owners.

“Car factories are closed, but we have an important stock of 2,000 cars already imported into Ukraine and immediately available. We can supply our customers with new cars till the end of May. We have enough cars to satisfy our customers in the next two months.

“Factories are supposed to restart their production from the end of April. So we believe that we’ll avoid any shortage. All spare parts are available thanks to an important stock (replenished) before the crisis, and it is also thanks to the supply chain from Romania which remains operational.

Francois Mariotte is the managing director of Renault Ukraine, a subsidiary of French manufacturer Renault and the leading player in the Ukrainian automotive industry.

“We anticipated the quarantine by building an action plan since early February. We had made two major decisions after the quarantine was announced. First, we asked Renault Ukraine employees to work from home. All information technology solutions were ready because our employees were used to working remotely (because) they have the possibility to work two days a month from home. They have laptops, the internet and up-to-date software. They can work at home as if they were at the office. Secondly, we ensured business continuity for all our customers. Our partners, from banks to dealers, and logistics… deliver the usual services.

“If we had to continue working remotely in June, it would probably start to be difficult on a human level. Despite the efficiency of all our IT solutions, nothing can replace the daily human communication. And I don’t know how we’ll feel after two months staying at home. These psychological and physical impacts are very difficult to predict.

“This crisis is probably the biggest ever. But Ukrainians are one of the most trained people in handling such crises. This experience allowed my colleagues to bring answers efficiently. We had the chance to be able to organize the work at home and to keep our network operational. Of course, it’s not easy, but again, the courage and the very practical and alert spirit of Ukrainians is a valuable asset in this crisis.

“We are not receiving any specific help (from the government) and we don’t ask for it. The authorities did what they had to do, as efficiently as possible. The measures they have implemented to preserve the health of the population are similar to what is implemented in western European countries such as France.

“I wish courage and determination to the Ukrainian and French governments in managing this crisis with special thoughts toward all people working in the health care system. To the business community in Ukraine — ‘bon courage’ like we say in French, and remember, ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’”