In September, Bedeo, which makes electric powertrains for vans for world No. 3 automaker Stellantis, launched a service to convert thousands of diesel vans to electric hybrids.

That business is launching initially in France to take advantage of government subsidies for retrofitting fossil-fuel models.

After serving as CEO of Renault after the arrest of former CEO Carlos Ghosn in 2018, Bollore spent two years as CEO of Tata Motors unit JLR before stepping down in late 2022 citing personal reasons.

In a statement, Bollore said he was "looking forward to sharing my knowledge with (Bedeo) in support of pursuing the company's mission" to electrify transportation.

(Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)