February 17, 2026 11:58
The Future is Neutral, the joint venture between Renault Group and Suez focused on the automotive circular economy, has appointed Grégoire de Franqueville (pictured) as CEO. He replaces Jean-Philippe Bahuaud, who has led the company since its formation in 2022 and, from 1 March, will take on the role of Program Director for the “B-Low” segment.
De Franqueville will oversee the implementation of the joint venture’s strategy, with a particular focus on expanding recycling activities in Europe and internationally, serving the wider automotive industry.
“I am deeply honored to join The Future is Neutral at this pivotal moment for the automotive industry. Today, the company has already structured robust solutions to develop the circular economy: dismantling of end-of-life vehicles, recovery of parts and materials, second life and repair, and recycling streams. Our priority remains to serve the entire automotive industry with increasingly competitive solutions for all stakeholders, in order to strengthen Europe’s strategic independence and our environmental contribution,” said de Franqueville.
BIOGRAPHY. A graduate of École Centrale de Nantes, Grégoire de Franqueville began his career at Michelin before joining Renault Group. After around ten years in engineering management, he led the Qashqai and X-Trail programmes for Nissan in Japan. He subsequently held several roles within Renault Group and the Renault-Nissan Alliance, notably in business development and international strategy. After leading the Horse project, he took responsibility for strategy, partnerships and business development for Renault Group’s Light Commercial Vehicles division, before moving to NEUTRAL.
The Future is Neutral, established by Renault and opened to Suez in 2024, manages the collection and dismantling of end-of-life vehicles, as well as the reuse, remanufacturing and recycling of parts and materials, reintroducing them into the vehicle lifecycle through a car-to-car approach. The company processes 425,000 end-of-life vehicles annually, recovering around 10 million components, remanufacturing 385,000 of them and recycling nearly 2 million tonnes of materials each year.
At the end of January, the company acquired a 30% minority stake in Italy’s Pollini Group, one of the country’s leading operators in vehicle dismantling and the recovery of materials and components.
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