Pierre Dreyfus

Between 1948 and 1955, Dreyfus combined his civil service duties with the vice-presidency of the newly nationalised Renault auto business.

On 11 February 1955 Pierre Lefaucheux died in a road accident and Dreyfus was appointed CEO of Renault.

[1] The collapse of North American demand for the Dauphine triggered a crisis for the company that was well-publicised, especially in the United States, with unsold Dauphines on North American docksides adding to the half million unsold Detroit built products clogging the US auto-market by the end of 1960: for Renault salvation arrived just in time in the form of the Renault 4, developed under Dreyfus and built at the rate of 1,000 cars a day by the end of 1962.

[1] During Dreyfus's twenty years in charge, Renault went on to consolidate its position as France's top selling car maker, gaining particular recognition in the 1960s for popularizing front wheel drive, hatchback sedans across Europe, most notably the 4, 5 and 16 models.

During the early years of the Mitterrand presidency, Dreyfus became active on the political scene, serving briefly as Industry Minister between June 1981 and June 1982 under prime minister Pierre Mauroy.