After graduating from the EDHEC business school, Cécile joined Renault in 2000, taking on various duties in the Sales & Marketing Department : new-vehicle and used-vehicle marketing, electric vehicles marketing coordinator, head of vehicle naming operations.
When we started the project for naming HFE, around three years ago, we were looking for something that would be coherent with the names of Renault's other crossovers, and express Renault's personality traits. As well as bringing to mind the attributes of power, strength and robustness, the name Kadjar also evokes the idea of escapade, travel and discovery. And it fits in with the other names in Renault's crossover line-up: Captur, the latest, and Koleos, which dates to 2008.
The name Kadjar is phonetically coherent with the names of Renault's other crossovers. “Renault Kadjar” sits easily alongside “Renault Captur” and “Renault Koleos”. Style-wise, the car belongs to the Explore petal in the Design Daisy, and the name carries connotations of energy and action accordingly. Like the vehicle itself, the name Kadjar expresses the Renault personality, with the promise of a rewarding, motivational, energetic, outgoing lifestyle. The name is pleasing to the ear; it sounds solid and reassuring, consistent with the crossover's emphasis on robustness.
Vehicle naming is a lengthy business. Around three years before a new model is released on the market the vehicle naming team meets with all the members of the vehicle project team (design, product planning, programme, marketing) to draw up precise specifications on the matter. The vehicle naming process breaks down into three main phases:
The name Kadjar, for instance, carries a sense of surprise; people are not indifferent to it. Then the name fits with the vehicle positioning and the vehicle personality. I'd say that if a name sounds right for a particular product, it's because it is coherent with the product itself, with the intention behind the product, and with the product positioning.