Tell us about your role within Renault Sport Technologies?
My main mission is to study the French and international customerbase in order to identify current sports vehicle buying trends and anticipate how they will evolve in the future. We try to define the behaviour patterns of the customer as both an owner and a driver of a sports vehicle. We examine his lifestyle, his consumer habits, his automotive past and his broader expectations. 
I also play a key role in defining the technical specifications of future vehicles developed by Renault Sport Technologies. I work in collaboration with Renault product management to find the optimum compromise between the customers’ current and future expectations and the industrial and budgetary constraints of the project. This applies to technical and design choices, as well as performance specifications. Then we build the sales and communication strategy. Finally, once a vehicle has been launched, my team is in charge for engineering and managing its product life-cycle. We direct the vehicle’s “career” in the Renault range, identifying customer wishes for special and limited editions, and exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing development of the car. 

Can you describe the different profiles of Renault Sport vehicle customers?
There are four main customer groups. First, the “pros”, whose primary preoccupation is the intrinsic performance of the car. They represent about 15% of our current customer-base. Then we have the “specialists”, who share the professional approach to sports vehicles of the “pros”, but who tend to take into account the wider aspects of the car package. Their buying behaviour is fundamentally more rational than the “pros”. This customer group is gradually growing in size, especially since the launch of the Mégane Renault Sport and the different versions of the Clio. Today “specialists” account for some 25% of our buyers. The biggest customer group, accounting for some 40% of our sales, is what we call the “diehards”. These are customers who believe in the product, but are also attracted by the notion of being part of a particular universe. As motorsport enthusiasts, they attach huge importance to the image of a particular car, as well as that of the Renault Sport brand. Finally, there is a growing trend towards “high end” customers, most of whom we have gained thanks to the popularity of the Mégane. They are not just looking for a sporty car, but also a prestige vehicle, one that has enhanced levels of comfort and versatility, as well as exceptional performance... Our goal is to develop this customer group, which today represents 20% of our sales.

The Clio Renault Sport Concept will be unveiled soon at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. What are your expectations for this vehicle?
For Renault, the sport derivative vehicles are very much the standard-bearers of the range. With Clio III going on sale on September 15, the Clio Renault Sport Concept will send out a clear signal that the new Clio range will be getting a sport-oriented model in the near future. What’s more, the construction of such a high-profile concept vehicle illustrates just how exclusive this future sporty Clio will be with respect to the rest of the range.