History of Renault

In 1898, the French company Renault was founded, specializing in the production of cars. The origins of the brand were the brothers Louis and Marcel Renault, each of whom took on certain functions in the development of the company. So, Louis was the director and chief engineer responsible for the creation of cars, and Marcel took over the functions of working with finance and advertising.

In the same year, the first model of the brand was introduced – Voiturette, equipped with a power unit with a capacity of 0.75 horsepower. In 1901, two new models of the company were presented at once, one of them was the Renault AG-1. In addition, serious funds were invested in the modernization of the Belgian auto-building enterprise, which first became a partner of the French brand, and then became part of Renault. By 1904, the company’s annual production of cars exceeded a thousand copies a year. A year later, the French government ordered 250 taxi cars from the Renault brothers, which made it possible to conduct the first tests of the company’s conveyor shop. This was followed by similar orders from the United States of America, Canada and Argentina. In 1906, the first Renault bus saw the light.

In 1910, the brand released two more new models, which managed to go on sale before the outbreak of the First World War, but their production was curtailed in 1914, and the company switched to the production of trucks and light tanks. In the first post-war period, Renault engineers are refining their early models, which take part in a number of racing competitions, the crowning achievement of which was the victory at the Monte Carlo Rally.

By 1928, the production of the French brand was expanded, and a new model of the company saw the light, which received a new 7-liter power unit. In just a year, there were more than 300 Renault offices in 50 countries, which allowed Louis Renault to finally feel a major success. Despite the beginning of the economic crisis, sales of Renault cars continue to grow steadily. However, after another 9 years, the main source of income for the French company was precisely compact small cars, which were in great demand among buyers from Europe and the United States of America.

In 1939, Louis Renault began work on a new model that promised to be a real revolution in the automotive industry, but the Second World War began and the Renault company again switched to the production of military equipment for the needs of the army of France and Belgium. The sad result of the German occupation of France was that all Renault factories came under the control of the German government. The founders of the company were exiled to a small chateau in the south of France, and then to one of the prisons, where Louis died in 1944. In the same year, the French government gained control over the Renault company, which nationalized all the enterprises and developments of the brand.

In 1946, the Renault 4CV compact four-door sedan was introduced, with the power unit located at the rear of the car. In just 15 years, more than 1 million copies of this model were sold, which made it possible to restore the brand’s influence on the European automotive market.

In 1965, the world’s first hatchback car was introduced, which was developed by Renault engineers and equipped with a front-wheel drive transmission, which became the first in the history of the brand. In 1972, the model was updated and called Renault 5. It is thanks to this model that the French brand begins a massive offensive on the Latin American automotive market. In addition, it was thanks to Renault 5 that the company’s management decided to create its own racing division and tuning studio. So the firms “Renault Sport” and “Alpine” were presented.

Since 1966, an alliance was concluded with Renault’s main competitor in the French automotive market, the Peugeot concern, which became the brand’s technology partner for a long time. As a result of this cooperation, several major contracts were signed, and in 1971, the Swedish company Volvo joined the partnership of two French companies, becoming Renault’s technology partner in the field of commercial and freight transport.

By 1990, Renault had become a successful seller of its vehicles in the United States auto market, capturing a hefty 2% share of the total number of vehicles sold. One of the reasons for the success was the release of the Espace minivan, which was specially designed for sale in the United States and Canada, which made it possible to more accurately determine the preferences of buyers. In 1990, the Renault Clio subcompact hatchback was introduced, which won the title of best car in 1991.

In 1992, work began on the creation of a city car with low fuel consumption and small dimensions, which would increase the company’s share in the automotive market in Western Europe. So the Twiggo model saw the light, which received a 1 liter power unit from the Japanese company Nissan.

In 1996, after a change in leadership, Renault was privatized, and the shares were placed on all major world stock exchanges. Thanks to the rapid growth of the brand’s paper prices, as well as the conclusion of a number of strategic agreements, Renault acted as one of the saviors of the Nissan brand, which was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1997. A stake in 37% of Nissan was acquired, and a Japanese company received a 15% stake in Renault.

In the same year, Renault bought out the ruined Romanian brand Dacia, having at its disposal its production facilities. In 1998, the Renault-Nissan concern began producing universal platforms that could be used to create cars of each of the brands, without having to spend extra money on developing models from scratch.

The next high-profile purchase was the acquisition of the Volvo truck division, which allowed Renault to become one of the largest manufacturers of heavy trucks. At the same time, Carlos Ghosn became at the helm of Nissan, who determined the development of the entire concern in the following decades.

In 2002, the company returns to Formula 1 racing, becoming one of the regular participants. This was how magnificent victories were won in the driver’s and car manufacturers’ championships in 2005 and 2006. However, by 2010, the company’s presence was limited to the supply of powertrains for a number of teams, including future champions from Red Bull, who became Nissan’s technology partners in creating sports cars.

In 2006, the French concern bought out another automaker, this time the South Korean Samsung Motors, which became the official supplier of Renault and Nissan cars in South Korea and China. In addition, a joint venture was established with Samsung Electronics, which began to create computers for future models of the French brand.

In 2007, the most popular car of the Renault brand in the first decade of the 21st century, the Renault Logan / Sandero, built on a single Renault-Nissan B platform, was introduced. Later, the car formed the basis of a whole model range of the company, which is positioned as a budget car.

In the same year, Renault headed for the creation of crossovers and all-wheel drive vehicles under its own brand, but the project was quickly curtailed, and the Nissan brand undertook the development of a single all-wheel drive platform. In addition, thanks to the successful sales of cars from the concern’s luxury division, Infiniti, Renault-Nissan’s presence in the automotive market of the United States of America and China was expanded.

In 2010, several Renault joint ventures with local brands were opened in China, which allowed the construction of new powertrain plants to begin. A year later, the Chinese division of Renault was founded. It is planned that by 2016 it will start producing all-wheel drive Koleos crossovers and Fluence compact sedans.

In 2012, a large-scale renewal of the company’s model range began, as well as the concepts of Renault cars, which will go on sale after 2015, were presented.