How the jobs of tomorrow are shaping today’s automotive industry
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Article summary
Did you know that a car contains more lines of code than a commercial aircraft? That it is one of the most recyclable everyday products? Do you know the economic weight of the automotive industry in Europe ? Ahead of the Paris Motor Show, we invite you to discover a series of surprising facts and figures that offer a fresh perspective on the automotive industry. Dive into the expertise behind a sector where some of today’s most significant transformations are taking shape, often far removed from clichés and conventional wisdom. Ready to be surprised?
Artificial intelligence and new technologies are transforming automotive skills and professions. Through six individual career paths, discover the people putting robotics, data, digital technology and energy to work for today’s vehicles.
Key takeaways
- The European car industry installed 23,000 industrial robots in 2024, around a third of all installations in manufacturing on the continent[1].
- Almost nine organisations in ten worldwide use AI in at least one function, and advanced industries deploy it first in production and the supply chain[3].
- Renault Group operates 11,000 industrial robots in 23 plants and is aiming for 350 new-generation Calvin robots in its French and Spanish plants by the end of 2027[4].
- The Group’s plants analyse five billion data points a day.
- The new jobs cover robotics, data, logistics, customer experience and digital, energy and carbon.
- ReKnow University has trained or reskilled more than 53,000 employees since 2021 in seven strategic skill areas, from electric mobility to cybersecurity[7].
How the jobs of tomorrow are shaping today's cars
40% of organisations with more than one billion in revenue say they are deploying artificial intelligence agents at scale, according to McKinsey[3]. The car industry is no exception: artificial intelligence is advancing fast and is profoundly changing skills and jobs alike. At Renault Group, this shift takes shape in the daily work of employees who put new technologies to work for today's cars. From robotics to energy, here are six career paths that give these jobs of tomorrow a face.
Robotics: a physical AI expert
The European car industry installed 23,000 industrial robots in 2024, around a third of all installations in manufacturing on the continent, which makes it the leading customer for robotics in Europe[1]. Laurent Duthoit, robotics and physical AI expert at Renault Group, sees it first-hand. His playing field: 11,000 traditional industrial robots in 23 plants, 5,000 automated guided vehicles and 100 autonomous mobile robots for handling[4]. His latest assignment began on 1 October 2024, at a conference where the co-founder of the start-up Wandercraft, originally specialised in robotic exoskeletons for people with reduced mobility, announced his intention to produce humanoid robots. The result is called Calvin, a new-generation robot that relies on physical AI to perceive its environment, adapt to it and switch missions, where a traditional robot is dedicated to a single task[4]. Tested at the Douai plant, it grabs tyres two at a time, around thirty kilos at once, when most robots on the market handle only 3 to 10 kilos[4].
Ten years ago, this job did not exist. The development followed the logic of a vehicle project, with Renault Group defining the use cases and Wandercraft responding technically, with weekly adjustments[4]. Eric Marchiol, Industrial and Quality Metaverse Director, sums up the change: "The new generation of robotics will make it possible to enrich the tasks entrusted to our factory operators, by removing the most painful ones, on a physical or cognitive level."[4] The Group is thus one of the very first automotive manufacturers in the world to introduce such a robot on its lines. Around ten Calvins are expected in place by the end of 2026, and 350 in its French and Spanish plants by the end of 2027[4][5].
Artificial Intelligence : a data scientist industrializing AI solutions
Tiphaine Phe-Neau is Chapter Leader Data Scientist at Renault Group. With a PhD in computer science and a background in research, a start-up, a major digital media company and projects for the French Ministry of the Interior, she joined the Group in 2019, drawn by "a wide variety of subjects, serving a multitude of professions". She coordinates the development and industrialisation of data and AI solutions, hand in hand with quality, manufacturing, engineering and human resources, within the Augmented Renault programme that structures the integration of AI across the whole Group.
What was unthinkable not long ago comes down to one figure: thanks to standardised processes, the time needed to put a system that uses data and AI into production has gone from several months to just a few weeks. The innovations are very concrete, such as a voice assistant designed with the quality teams in Sandouville and Dieppe to record ratings (the assessments given during quality checks on a vehicle or a part) in a noisy environment, which is due to be rolled out in Spain and Latin America, in several languages. "AI must not be used on principle: it is a tool to be mobilised at the right time, for the right uses," she insists.
Data and Artificial Intelligence: A Digital Lead Driving Factory Performance
Gregorio Aguado is a Digital Lead for Renault Group’s manufacturing plants, working within the Innovation team based in Spain. With a background in telecommunications engineering, he built his career across process engineering, manufacturing and logistics before specializing in industrial digital transformation. Today, his mission is to coordinate data and artificial intelligence developments, providing shop floor teams with tools that enable faster, more accurate and more autonomous decision-making, helping improve the performance of Renault Group’s Spanish plants.
With millions of data points processed every day across Renault Group’s factories, his team develops and deploys large-scale digital solutions for the Group’s Spanish manufacturing operations. Among its flagship achievements is “Plant Connect”, which has become the benchmark digital tool for day-to-day factory management through data. Capable of processing millions of data points every day, Plant Connect was first adopted by Renault Group’s Spanish plants before being rolled out across the entire Group. “Our goal is to give every shop floor team the tools they need to make the right decisions, accurately and independently,” he explains. His role illustrates the emergence of new profiles at the intersection of manufacturing, data and artificial intelligence, which have become essential in today’s connected factories.
Customer experience and digital platforms: digital transformation experts working for the customer
Alberto D'Apice
Alberto D’Apice coordinates after-sales customer relations at Renault Italy, which he joined in 2010 after training as an industrial engineer, followed by a degree in physics. He designed Renault Le Club, a loyalty programme launched in October 2025 that rewards private customers for every job carried out in the network, with a target of 25,000 members in the first year. His job goes beyond the boundaries of a traditional after-sales position, since it meant bringing together the marketing, IT, legal, communications and after-sales departments, designing a technical architecture for data management and guaranteeing its compliance with the GDPR, in order, ultimately, to transform the relationship with customers.
Elis-Gabriela Marcu
In the United Kingdom, Elis-Gabriela Marcu leads the Digital Platforms and Projects team at Renault Group UK, which she joined in March 2024 after a career in financial services. She led the overhaul of the entire British digital ecosystem, websites, mobile applications and connected services, with a new cloud partner and a platform that went live in March 2026. Her role: aligning marketing, product, development, IT, compliance, sales and after-sales so that « every change really serves users, internal and external alike ». She measures the resulting change against three criteria: customer experience, operational efficiency and technical performance. « Digital can seem abstract, but in reality every optimisation, every adjustment, every technical choice has a direct impact on readability and ease of use, » she explains.
Energy and Carbon: Anticipating the Fuels of 2035
Robert Lassartesses is Expert Leader for Energy Carriers and Carbon Engineering at Renault Group. He describes his mission as follows: “to help understand and anticipate all the changes taking place in the energy landscape, at a time when the cost of renewable energies, particularly solar and wind power, is falling rapidly... We are no longer living in the world of the past.” His current priority is to determine which low-carbon fuels, such as biofuels and e-fuels, will be available at European fuel stations between 2030 and 2035, and at what price, in order to help guide Renault Group’s engine technology choices. Another key aspect of his role is carbon engineering, a field that did not exist five years ago. Carbon transformation, storage and utilization: these areas will be essential to achieving Renault Group’s Net Zero ambition. It is therefore a role that brings together expertise in chemistry, geopolitics, logistics and energy use across the entire vehicle value chain.
ReKnow University: training for the jobs of tomorrow
Created in 2021, ReKnow University is Renault Group’s corporate university. It has trained or reskilled more than 53,000 employees since its creation, in seven strategic skill areas: electric mobility, circular economy, data, software, cybersecurity, operational excellence and customer experience[7]. Its French campuses are located as close as possible to the jobs themselves: in Cléon for the electric motor, where a learning factory trains people on industrial machines, in real production conditions, and has delivered more than 23,000 hours of training since 2022[8]; in Lardy for batteries, where a laboratory dedicated to cells, equipped with more than 120 pieces of equipment, tests new chemistries[9]; in Flins for the circular economy[8]. In Cléon again, a campus specialising in power electronics supports the reskilling of more than 400 employees of the plant, as part of the France 2030 programme[10]. The university is developing its offer internationally with branches in Turkey, Spain, Argentina and Brazil[11]. The learning factory’s courses lead to certification, are recognised by the French State, and are open to Group employees as well as students, industrial partners and people retraining[8].
FAQ
01
What are the jobs of the future in the car industry?
02
What studies are needed to work in the car industry?
03
How is artificial intelligence changing jobs in the car industry?
04
Is it possible to retrain for a job in the car industry?
The jobs of the future in the car industry are developing in particular in robotics and physical AI, data, cybersecurity, the digitalised supply chain, digital platforms, customer experience, and energy and carbon engineering. These areas of expertise complement the long-standing jobs of design, production, sales and maintenance.
There is no need to be an engineer to work in the car industry. The sector welcomes people with technical, scientific, digital, commercial or customer relations backgrounds. At Renault Group, ReKnow University also offers certified courses close to the jobs and the industrial equipment, for employees, students, industrial partners and people retraining[8].
Artificial intelligence is changing jobs in the car industry by automating certain tasks, speeding up data analysis and improving production, quality and logistics. At Renault Group, it is used in particular to develop voice assistants for quality checks, flow management tools and robots that can adapt to several missions. It changes existing jobs as much as it creates new areas of expertise.
Yes, retraining for a job in the car industry is possible, including from research, financial services or other industrial sectors. Digital, scientific, commercial and project management skills are transferable. ReKnow University supports this move: more than 53,000 employees have been trained or reskilled since 2021 in seven strategic areas, including electric mobility, data, software and cybersecurity[7].
Sources
[1] IFR, International Federation of Robotics, press release "Europe's Auto Industry Installed 23,000 new Robots", 17 June 2025, preliminary 2024 results, Europe.
[2] IFR, World Robotics 2025, press release of 25 September 2025, worldwide installations of industrial robots in 2024.
[3] McKinsey, "The state of AI in 2026: On the road to ROI", 25 August 2026, global survey of 1,719 participants in 97 countries.
[4] Renault Group, renaultgroup.com magazine, "Calvin, a new-generation robot in our plants", 26 June 2026.
[5] Renault Group, brochure "Renault Group en France" (Renault Group in France), July 2026, p. 27.
[6] Renault Group, brochure "Renault Group en France" (Renault Group in France), July 2026, p. 42 and 43.
[7] Renault Group, 2025 Universal Registration Document, p. 11, 16 and 89 (French edition); 2025-2026 Integrated Report, p. 21 and 34.
[9] Renault Group, renaultgroup.com magazine, "À Cléon, une manufacture apprenante pour transformer les compétences et l'industrie" (In Cléon, a learning factory to transform skills and industry), 23 April 2026.
[10] Renault Group, brochure "Renault Group en France" (Renault Group in France), July 2026, p. 11.
[11] Renault Group, 2025-2026 Integrated Report, p. 20.
[12] Renault Group, 2025 Universal Registration Document, p. 89 (French edition).
