Renault appoints marketing chief

French car marque Renault has appointed mercosur director Jérôme Stoll vice president of sales and marketing.

Stoll, who is also to be VP of light commercial vehicles, replaces Patrick Blain who is to be a special advisor to the company’s president.

He has also been appointed leader of the Europe region, a post previously held by Patrick Pelata, and will also sit on the firm’s executive committee.

Stoll has worked for Renault since 1980 and was president and chief executive of Renault Samsung Motors when it was acquired by Renault in 1998.

The appointment comes as the car marque reports a net loss of €982m (£885m) in the second half of 2008 compared with a €1.5bn (£1.3bn) net profit in the first half. The slump left the firm with a full-year profit of €1.9bn (£1.7bn), down from €3bn (£2.7bn) in 2007 against a 7% drop in revenues to €38bn (£34bn).

Renault says the deterioration in the global economy was behind the second half performance.