Renault, the famous French car manufacturer, has deployed “Sons of the Soil” strategy under which they are hiring ITI-educated local rural youth to serve as brand ambassadors for the company. These youth will sell Renault vehicles in and around their home towns or villages.
This is Renault’s strategy to penetrate into rural India more deeply.
Country CEO & MD of Renault India Operations Venkatram Mamillapalle says, “we have recruited 500 educated youth from rural and small towns, trained them and put them as rural sales engineers to market Renault cars. They are all sons of the soil. They are made to work in same area they belong to.”
He adds that this strategy has led to a significant positive impact on the rural sales of the company.
Youth employed by the company are happy because they can sit in their hometowns and work for a French company. They can proudly brandish this in their resumes.
The company shares the salary of these employed youth equally by the local dealer. The company has roped in village sarpanches as the brand’s lead campaigners.
Through this strategy, Renault cars are now displayed in Indian villages. The company has also organized mobile service vehicles, which are ‘workshops on wheels’ that will take care of the service and maintenance part of the vehicle.
The result of the strategy is already showing. Renault is enjoying a jump in sales in rural areas, to 37% in 2021. It was just 19% in 2020.
The company’s strategy has created a win-win situation for the company and for the village youth. The strategy has generated a lot of job opportunities in rural India. Under this strategy, Renault intends to hire 500 more people from small towns and villages this year (2021).
