Renault lends free cars during job probation — pay only if hired; Cars to Work wins Cannes

Outside French cities, public transport nearly disappears, and more than half of financially fragile job seekers have refused a job because they couldn't get to it. Even with an offer, no bank would finance a car before the probation period ended — so the car, the job and the loan were locked in a cycle.

Give job seekers in mobility deserts a free car during their three-month trial and charge only once the job is secured — the lease is paid by the employment it unlocks.

Through its CareMakers inclusive-mobility program and agency Publicis Conseil, Renault Group launched 'Cars to Work' on 23 March 2024: a fleet of new Dacia Sanderos and certified used cars from its renew brand, offered through nearly 50 partner dealerships and social prescribers including France Travail and microcredit partners. Eligible users (income up to €14,000 reference tax income) drove the car free during the trial period and only started paying from month four, once their contract was confirmed.

Cannes Lions 2024 gave 'Cars to Work' the Sustainable Development Goals Grand Prix and the Creative Commerce Grand Prix, plus Golds in Creative Business Transformation and Direct; the French trade press reported the campaign reached 8.8 million people. In Renault's CareMakers program, 94% of beneficiaries say the vehicle helped them find or keep a job, and the share of beneficiaries on permanent contracts multiplied by 2.5.

In France, leaving the cities means public transport almost disappears, and a car is often the difference between having a job and not: Renault Group says more than half of job seekers in financial fragility have refused a job because they had no way to get there. And even when someone did get an offer, banks would not finance a car before the probation period ended — so the car, the job and the loan each blocked the other two.

In March 2024 Renault Group launched 'Cars to Work' through its CareMakers inclusive-mobility program, with Publicis Conseil as the creative agency. New Dacia Sanderos and certified used cars from the renew brand were made available through nearly 50 dealerships and a network of social prescribers — including France Travail and microcredit partners like Adie — to people with a mobility need and income up to €14,000 reference tax income. They drove for free during the three-month trial and started paying only from month four, once the job was secured: a first in France.

The campaign was built as a human story rather than a discount: a film by Division Paris showed a woman learning on her voicemail that she was hired, and driving to work in a Renault. Cannes Lions 2024 awarded it the Sustainable Development Goals Grand Prix and the Creative Commerce Grand Prix, plus Golds in Creative Business Transformation and Direct. French trade press reported the campaign reached 8.8 million people, and 94% of CareMakers beneficiaries say their vehicle helped them find or keep a job.

It attacks the real bottleneck — no car, no job, no loan — instead of advertising a product feature.

Deferring payment until after probation turns the car into an investment in the customer's own employment, aligning the brand with the outcome.

The partner ecosystem (France Travail, microcredit lenders, social prescribers) routes the offer to the people who need it most, making media spend nearly unnecessary.

The proof is built in: 94% of beneficiaries say the car helped them work, so the business case is also the social impact report.

When the offer removes the customer's real barrier — no car, no job, no loan — the product itself becomes the ad, and the business case and the social case are the same number.

The scheme continued inside Renault's CareMakers program, which by 2024 had already served more than 3,000 people since 2012, with roughly 50 dealerships offering vehicles and over 300 garages giving preferential maintenance rates. Renault's 2024 Cannes haul — 11 Lions across four campaigns — made it the most-awarded French brand of the festival, and 'Cars to Work' became its flagship proof that inclusive mobility is a business model.