Bernard Hanon, who worked for 26 years at Renault, including four as CEO of the Régie in the early 1980s, has died. He notably contributed to the launch of the R5 and the Renault Espace, two models that have become iconic of the diamond brand.
As Renault prepares for the return of the R5, the next generation of which will be an electric city car, one of the strong men behind the launch of the 1972 model has passed away. Bernard Hanon, who was Chairman and CEO of Régie Renault when the manufacturer was still controlled by the State, passed away on November 10 at the age of 89 after a long illness, his family told theAFP.
Renault on American time
Bernard Hanon was born in 1932 in Bois-Colombes. During the Second World War, this son of a Polish Jewish couple went into exile with his parents as far as Palestine. Then he returned to France to begin studies which led him to Lycée Louis-le-Grand, HEC school and Columbia University in New York.
Hanon joined Renault in 1959 and, as he progressed in the hierarchy, used its connections with the United States to support Renault projects across the Atlantic, including the takeover of the manufacturer AMC in 1979. Hanon became CEO of the company, on appointment by the Council of Ministers, in 1981.
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From R5 to Espace via F1
Over the course of his long career at Renault, Bernard Hanon notably experienced the 1973 oil crisis and the rise of diesel in France. This motorsport enthusiast supported the development of the brand at the highest level. In 1977, Jean-Louis Moncet remembers hearing him say: “ Before putting everything on F1, you have to win Le Mans “. This was done in 1978. On the evening of the race, Bernard Hanon announced the end of the Le Mans program, in favor of Formula 1. Bernard Dudot, who supervised Renault’s technical program at the time, remembers: “ This decision to build a turbo engine was very special (…) We were so enthusiastic that we managed to convince the President of Renault, Bernard Hanon, to try the F1 adventure. It was a totally crazy idea at the time. Fortunately, he was as passionate as we are and above all saw the benefits Renault could derive from motor racing and F1. “.
Besides the R5, he was one of the architects of the launch of the first Renault Espace in 1984, with the success that we know. ” It is the car that we will naturally end up with when we have passed all the vanities of cars. He said of the minivan. In 1985, Hanon was replaced at the head of Renault by Georges Besse, whose assassination the following year by the far-left terrorist group Action Directe marked the spirits. Bernard Hanon then held various positions, notably as a consultant and school president.
