![Usines Renault 1932](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Usines_Renault_1932.jpg)
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French
multinational automobile manufacturer
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...
established in 1899.
The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured trucks, tractors, tanks, buses/coaches, aircraft and aircraft engines, and
autorail
The French word Autorail describes a single powered railcar capable of carrying passengers. While the concept faded for a while, it has been introduced with a new range of vehicles for both standard and metre gauge lines.
Many autorails from the ...
vehicles.
According to the
Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles
The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA; french: Organisation internationale des constructeurs automobiles), founded 1919 in Paris, is an international trade association whose members are 39 national automotive industry ...
, in 2016 Renault was the
ninth biggest automaker in the world by production volume.
By 2017, the
Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance
The Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, originally known as the Renault–Nissan Alliance, is a French-Japanese strategic alliance between the automobile manufacturers Renault (based in Boulogne-Billancourt, France), Nissan (based in Yokoham ...
had become the world's biggest seller of light vehicles.
Headquartered in
Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...
, near
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, the Renault group is made up of the namesake Renault marque and subsidiaries,
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
,
Renault Sport
Renault Sport () or Renaultsport, was the motorsport, performance and special vehicles division for Renault-badged cars. Renault Sport was officially established in 1976 as a merger between the Alpine and Gordini competition departments. It wa ...
(
Gordini
Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini be ...
),
Automobile Dacia
S.C. Automobile Dacia S.A., commonly known as Dacia (), is a Romanian car manufacturer that takes its name from the historical region that constitutes present-day Romania. The company was established in 1966. In 1999, after 33 years, the Rom ...
from Romania, and
Renault Samsung Motors
Renault Korea Motors ( ko, 르노코리아자동차), is a South Korean car manufacturer headquartered in Busan where its single assembly site is also located, with additional facilities at Seoul (administration), Giheung (research and develop ...
from South Korea. Renault has a 43.4% stake with several votes in
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
of Japan,
and used to have a 1.55% stake in
Daimler AG
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
of Germany, it was sold off in early 2021 to help them overcome financial difficulties. (Since 2012 Renault has manufactured engines for Daimler's Mercedes
A-Class and
B-Class cars
and is also fully involved in manufacturing of the
Mercedes-Benz Citan
The Mercedes-Benz Citan is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle introduced as a badge-engineered variant of the Renault Kangoo in 2012 and marketed by Mercedes-Benz as the successor to the Vaneo compact MPV. In the Mercedes-Benz van lineup, ...
van). Renault also owns subsidiaries
RCI Banque
RCI Banque SA (), trading as Mobilize Financial Services and formerly known as RCI Bank and Services and as Renault Crédit International, is a France-based international company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renault. RCI Banque specialis ...
(automotive financing), Renault Retail Group (automotive distribution) and
Motrio
Motrio is a brand of spare automotive parts launched by Renault in 1998, covering both Renault/Dacia vehicles and other brands. Motrio also introduced a multibrand network of repairers in 2003. Development
Motrio was created in 1998. The brand st ...
(automotive parts). Renault has various joint ventures, including
Oyak-Renault
Oyak Renault Otomobil Fabrikaları or Oyak-Renault is a Turkish automotive manufacturer located in Bursa. It is co-owned by OYAK (Turkish: Ordu Yardımlaşma Kurumu, English: Army Pension Fund) and Renault. Oyak owns 49% and Renault owns 51% of th ...
(Turkey) and
Renault Pars
Renault Pars ( fa, رنو پارس, ''Renou Pars'', ) is an Iranian joint venture established in 2004 and owned by Renault and Iran's Industrial Development Renovation Organisation (IDRO) . The company is in charge of managing the assembly of CKD ...
(Iran). The French state owns a 15% share of Renault.
Renault Trucks
Renault Trucks is a French commercial truck manufacturer with corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it has been a subsidiary of the Volvo Group since 2001.
From its beginnings in 1978 to 2002, the comp ...
, previously known as Renault Industriels, has been part of
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
since 2001.
Renault Agriculture
Renault Agriculture S.A.S. () was the agricultural machinery division of the French car manufacturer Renault established in 1918 from its armored military vehicles division. While in operation, Renault Agriculture had various partnerships with ma ...
became 100% owned by German agricultural equipment manufacturer
CLAAS
}
CLAAS is an agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Harsewinkel, Germany, in the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia. Founded in 1913 by August Claas, CLAAS is a family business and one of the market and technology leaders in harves ...
in 2008. Renault's shareholding in
AvtoVAZ
AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftoˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ ( rus, ВАЗ), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (russian: Во́лжский автомо ...
is being divested to the Government of Russia as an effect of the ongoing
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
Together Renault and Nissan invested €4 billion (US$5.16 billion) in eight
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
s over three to four years beginning in 2011. Since the launch of the Renault electric program, the group has sold more than 273,000 electric vehicles worldwide through December 2019.
[
Renault is known for its role in ]motor sport
''Motor Sport'' is a monthly motor racing magazine, founded in the United Kingdom in 1924
as the ''Brooklands Gazette''. The name was changed to ''Motor Sport'' for the August 1925 issue. The magazine covers motor sport in general, although from ...
, particularly rallying
Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...
, Formula 1
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
and Formula E
Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...
. Its early work on mathematical curve modeling
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
for car bodies is important in the history of computer graphics
Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
.
History
Founding and early years (1898–1918)
The Renault corporation was founded on as ''Société Renault Frères'' by Louis Renault and his brothers Marcel and Fernand. Louis was a bright, aspiring young engineer who had already designed and built several prototypes before teaming up with his brothers, who had honed their business skills working for their father's textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
firm. While Louis handled design and production, Marcel and Fernand managed the business.
The first Renault car, the Renault Voiturette
The Renault Voiturette (Renault Little Car) was Renault's first ever produced automobile, and was manufactured between 1898 and 1903. The name was used for five models.
The first Voiturettes mounted De Dion-Bouton engines. Continental tires were u ...
1CV, was sold to a friend of Louis' father after giving him a test ride on 24 December 1898.
In 1903, Renault began to manufacture its own engines; until then it had purchased them from De Dion-Bouton
De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1953. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton, and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux.
Steam cars
T ...
. The first major volume sale came in 1905 when Société des Automobiles de Place bought Renault AG1 cars to establish a fleet of taxis. These vehicles were later used by the French military to transport troops during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
which earned them the nickname " Taxi de la Marne." By 1907, a significant percentage of London and Paris taxis had been built by Renault. Renault was also the best-selling foreign brand in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in 1907 and 1908. In 1908 the company produced 3,575 units, becoming the country's largest car manufacturer.
The brothers recognised the value of publicity that participation in motor racing
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
could generate for their vehicles. Renault made itself known through succeeding in the first city-to-city races held in Switzerland, producing rapid sales growth. Both Louis and Marcel raced company vehicles, but Marcel was killed in an accident during the 1903 Paris-Madrid race. Although Louis never raced again, his company remained very involved, including Ferenc Szisz
Ferenc Szisz (September 20, 1873 – February 21, 1944), was a Hungarian race car driver and the winner of the first Grand Prix motor racing event on a Renault Grand Prix 90CV on 26 June, 1906.
Early life
Szisz was born in the small town of Szeg ...
winning the first Grand Prix motor racing
Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car an ...
event in a Renault AK 90CV in 1906.
Louis took full control of the company as the only remaining brother in 1906 when Fernand retired for health reasons. Fernand died in 1909 and Louis became the sole owner, renaming the company ''Société des Automobiles Renault'' (Renault Automobile Company).
Renault fostered its reputation for innovation from very early on. At the time, cars were luxury items manufactured without assembly line advances. The price of the smallest Renaults at the time was 3000 franc
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (Style of the French sovereign, King of the Franks) used on early France, ...
s (₣); an amount equal to ten years pay for the average worker. In 1905, the company introduced mass production
Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
techniques and Taylorism
Scientific management is a theory of management that Analysis, analyzes and wikt:synthesis#Noun, synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially Workforce productivity, labor productivity. It was one of the ...
in 1913. In 1911, Renault visited Henry Ford at the Highland Park factory and adopted some of the manufacturing principles from his trip.
Renault manufactured buses
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
and commercial cargo vehicles in the pre-war years. The first real commercial truck
Truck classifications are typically based upon the maximum loaded weight of the truck, typically using the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and sometimes also the gross trailer weight rating (GTWR), and can vary among jurisdictions.
United ...
from the company was introduced in 1906. During World War I, it branched out into ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
, military aircraft engine
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...
s (the first Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
aircraft engines
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...
were modeled and inspired by Renault air-cooled aircraft V8 units) and vehicles such as the revolutionary Renault FT
The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
. The company's military designs were so successful that Louis was awarded the Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
for his company's contributions. The company exported engines to American automobile manufacturers for use in such automobiles as the GJG
The GJG was an American automobile manufactured from 1909 until 1914 by George John Grossman in White Plains, New York. It was assembled from imported components, which included a "Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault ...
, which used a Renault or four-cylinder engine.
Interwar years (1919–1938)
Louis Renault enlarged Renault's scope after 1918, producing agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
and industrial machinery
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to industrial machinery:
Essence of industrial machinery
* Heavy equipment
* Hardware
* Industrial process
* Machine
* Machine tool
* Tool
Industrial machines
* Agricult ...
. The war from 1914 until 1918 led to many new products. The first Renault tractor, the Type GP was produced between 1919 and 1930. It was based on the FT tank. Renault struggled to compete with the increasingly popular small, affordable "people's cars," while problems with the United States stock market and the workforce slowed the company's growth. Renault also had to find a way to distribute its vehicles more efficiently. In 1920, Louis signed one of its first distribution contracts with Gustave Gueudet, an entrepreneur from Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
, France which they still maintain a relationship.
The pre-First World War cars had a distinctive front shape caused by positioning the radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics.
A radiator is always a ...
behind the engine to give a so-called "coal scuttle
A coal scuttle, sometimes spelled ''coalscuttle'' and also called a ''hod'', "coal bucket", or "coal pail", is a bucket-like container for holding a small, intermediate supply of coal convenient to an indoor coal-fired stove or heater.
Descript ...
" bonnet
A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap
Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include
Scottish
* Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations:
**Feath ...
. This continued through the 1920s. Only in 1930 did all models place the radiator at the front. The bonnet badge changed from circular to the familiar and continuing diamond shape in 1925. The practice of installing the radiator behind the engine against the firewall continued during the 1950s and 1960s on vehicles where the engine was installed longitudinally in the rear of the vehicle.
Renault introduced new models at the Paris Motor Show
The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...
that was held in September or October of the year. This led to confusion about model years. For example, a "1927" model was mostly produced in 1928.
Renault cars during this time period had two model lines; the economy four-cylinder engine models that in the 1930s became the suffix "Quatre" and the luxury six-cylinder models that were initially sold with the suffix "-six" that later became the suffix "Stella". For example, in 1928, when Renault produced 45,809 cars, its seven models started with a 6CV, a 10CV, the Monasix, 15CV, the Vivasix, the 18/22CV and the 40CV. Renault offered eight body styles. The longer rolling chassis
A rolling chassis is the chassis without bodywork of a motor vehicle ( car, truck, bus, or other vehicle), assembled with suspension and wheels.
Heavy vehicles
Separate chassis remain in use for almost all heavy vehicles ranging from pickup tru ...
were available to coachbuilder
A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
s. The smaller were the most popular while the least produced was the 18/24CV. The most expensive body style in each range was the closed car. Roadsters and tourers (torpedoes) were the cheapest.
The London operation was important to Renault in 1928. The UK market was quite large and North America also received exports for the luxury car market. Lifted suspensions, enhanced cooling, and special bodies were common on vehicles sold abroad. Exports to the US by 1928 had declined to near-zero from their high point prior to WWI. A Type NM 40CV Tourer had a US list price of over US$4,600 ($ in dollars), about the same as a Cadillac V-12
The Cadillac V-12 is a top-of-the-line car that was manufactured by Cadillac from the 1931 through the 1937 model years. All were furnished with custom bodies, and the car was built in relatively small numbers. A total of 10,903 were made in the ...
, Packard Eight
The Packard Eight was a luxury automobile produced by Packard between 1924 and 1936, and was an all new platform that took the top market position from the earlier Packard Twin Six which was first introduced in 1916. When it was introduced, it was ...
, Fiat 520
The Fiat 520 is the name of two different Fiat models produced during the 1920s.
520 "Superfiat" (1921–1923)
Fiat's first entrant in the luxury car market, the 520 "Superfiat" was equipped with a V12 engine of 6,805 cc that produced an estimat ...
, or Delahaye
Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation with two unrelated brothers-in-law as equal partners in 1898. The compa ...
. Closed 7-seat limousines like the Renault Suprastella
The Renault Suprastella is a large car that was introduced by Renault in the Spring of 1938 as a replacement for the Renault Nervastella from which it inherited its mechanical elements and many other essential characteristics.
In the early 1930s ...
started at US$6,000 ($ in dollars).
Cars were conservatively engineered and built. The Renault Vivasix
The Renault Vivasix was a full-size car manufactured by the French car company Renault between 1926 and 1930. In 1930 the Vivasix was replaced by the Vivastella.
Details and evolutions
In 1927 Renault created two new models, one luxury and exp ...
, model PG1, was sold as the "executive sports" model beginning in 1927. Lighter weight factory steel bodies powered by a 3,180 cubic centimetre
A cubic centimetre (or cubic centimeter in US English) (SI unit symbol: cm3; non-SI abbreviations: cc and ccm) is a commonly used unit of volume that corresponds to the volume of a cube that measures 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm. One cu ...
(cc) six-cylinder motor provided a formula that lasted until the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
"de Grand Luxe Renaults", those with a wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
over , were produced in small numbers in two major types – six- and eight-cylinder. The 1927 six-cylinder Grand Renault models NM, PI and PZ introduced the new three spring rear suspension that considerably aided stability that was needed since some vehicles surpassed .
The straight 8-cylinder Reinastella was introduced in 1929 and expanded to a range culminating in 1939 Suprastella. Coachbuilders included Kellner Kellner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Ádám Kellner (born 1986), Hungarian tennis player
* Alex Kellner (1924–1996), baseball pitcher
* Alexander Kellner (born 1961), Brazilian paleontologist
* Birgit Kellner, Austria ...
, Labourdette Labourdette is a French surname derived from Gascon language
People with the surname Labourdette include:
* Elina Labourdette
Elina Labourdette (1919–2014) was a French film actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a charac ...
, J. Rothschild et Fils and Renault bodies. Closed car Renault bodies were often trimmed with interior woodwork by Rothschild.
In 1928, Renault introduced an upgraded specification to its "Stella" line. The Vivastella's and Grand Renaults had upgraded interior fittings and a small star fitted above the front hood logo. This proved to be a winning differentiator and in the 1930s all cars changed to the Stella suffix from the previous two alpha character model identifiers.
The Grand Renaults were built using a considerable amount of aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
. Engines, brakes, transmissions, floor and running boards and all external body panels were aluminium. Of the few that were built, many went to scrap to aid the war effort.
In 1931, Renault introduced diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s for its commercial vehicles.[
Renault was one of the few French vehicle manufacturers that pursued the production of ]aircraft engine
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...
s after World War I. In the late 1920s, it attempted to produce a high-power military engine to compete with the American Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military aviat ...
units, which proved unsuccessful, although its civil engines achieved better results.[Smith, Michael Stephen (2006). pp. 419–420.]
In the 1930s, the company took over the aircraft manufacturer Caudron
The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...
, focusing its production in small airplanes,[ acquired a stake in ]Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
and partnered to establish the airmail
Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...
company Air Bleu
Air Bleu (Société Anonyme Air Bleu) was a French airline company between 1935 and 1940 that specialised in the delivery of mail within France.
Air Bleu started operations on the 10 July 1935 with Caudron Simoun aircraft operating four different ...
. Renault Caudron airplanes settled several speed world records during the 1930s. Renault continued developing tanks as part of France's rearming effort, including the D1 and the FT's replacement, the R 35.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Renault was surpassed by Citroën
Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...
as the largest car manufacturer in France. Citroën models at the time were more innovative and popular than Renault's. However, by mid-1930s the French manufacturers were hit by the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Renault could initially offset losses through its tractor, railroad and weaponry businesses, while Citroën filed for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
, and was later acquired by Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
.[ Renault became again the largest car manufacturer, a position it would keep until the 1980s.][
Renault was finally affected by the ]Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
economic crisis in 1936. The company spun off Caudron
The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...
and its foundry and aircraft engine divisions into related but autonomous operations, keeping its core automotive business.[ Between 1936 and 1938, a series of labour disputes, strikes, and worker unrest spread throughout the French automobile industry.] The disputes were eventually quashed by Renault in a particularly intransigent way, and over 2,000 people lost their jobs.
World War II and aftermath (1939–1944)
After the French capitulation in 1940, Louis Renault refused to produce tanks for Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, which took control of his factories. As Renault was manufacturing the Renault UE
The Renault UE Chenillette is a light tracked armoured carrier and prime mover produced by France between 1932 and 1940.
In 1930 the French Infantry decided to develop a light armoured vehicle able to tow and supply small cannon and mortars. I ...
tank for the Allies, he produced trucks
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
instead. On 3 March 1942, the British Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF) launched 235 low-level bombers at the Île Seguin, Billancourt, Paris plant, the largest number aimed at a single target during the war. of bombs were dropped on the plant and the surrounding area, causing extensive damage along with heavy civilian casualties.[ Renault resolved to rebuild the factory as quickly as possible, but bombardments continued a year later, on 4 April, this time delivered by the Americans, and on 3 and 15 September 1943.][
A few weeks after the ]Liberation of Paris
The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germ ...
, at the start of September 1944, the factory gates at Renault's Billancourt plant reopened.[ Operations restarted slowly, in an atmosphere poisoned by plotting and political conspiracy.][ In 1936, the Billancourt factory had been the scene of violent political and industrial unrest that had surfaced under ]Léon Blum
André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister.
As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...
's Popular Front
A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault".
More generally, it is "a coalition ...
government. The political jostling and violence that followed liberation ostensibly reflected the rivalries between capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
collaboration and communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
resistance; many of the scores settled predated the invasion.[
Responding to the chaotic situation at Renault, a 27 September 1944 meeting of the ]Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
( fr) took place under de Gaulle's presidency. Postwar European politics had quickly become polarised between communists and anti-communists, and in France de Gaulle was keen to resist Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
attempts to monopolise the political dividends available to resistance
Resistance may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm:
** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title
** ''T ...
heroes: politically Billancourt was a communist stronghold. The government decided to "requisition" the Renault factories. A week later, on 4 October, Pierre Lefaucheux
Pierre-André Lefaucheux (30 June 1898 – 11 February 1955) was a leading French industrialist and recipient of the Order of Liberation, awarded to heroes of France's Liberation during World War II.
As the first chairman of Renault during the c ...
, a resistance leader with a background in engineering and top-level management, was appointed provisional administrator of the firm, assuming his responsibilities at once.
Meanwhile, the provisional government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...
accused Louis Renault of collaborating with the Germans. In the frenzied atmosphere of those early post-liberation days, with many wild accusations, Renault was advised by his lawyers to present himself to a judge. He appeared before Judge Marcel Martin, on 22 September 1944 and was arrested on 23 September 1944, as were several other French automobile-industry leaders. Renault's harsh handling of the 1936–1938 strikes had left him without political allies and no one came to his aid. He was incarcerated at Fresnes prison
Fresnes Prison ('' French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a smal ...
where he died on 24 October 1944 under unclear circumstances, while awaiting trial.
On 1 January 1945, by de Gaulle's decree, the company was posthumously expropriated from Louis Renault. On 16 January 1945, it was formally nationalised as ''Régie Nationale des Usines Renault''. Renault's were the only factories permanently expropriated by the French government. In subsequent years, the Renault family tried to have the nationalisation rescinded by French courts and receive compensation. In 1945, and again in 1961, the Courts responded that they had no authority to review the government's actions.
Postwar resurgence (1945–1971)
Under the leadership of Pierre Lefaucheux
Pierre-André Lefaucheux (30 June 1898 – 11 February 1955) was a leading French industrialist and recipient of the Order of Liberation, awarded to heroes of France's Liberation during World War II.
As the first chairman of Renault during the c ...
, Renault experienced both a commercial resurgence and labor unrest A labour revolt or worker's uprising is a period of civil unrest characterised by strong labour militancy and strike activity. The history of labour revolts often provides the historical basis for many advocates of Marxism, communism, socialism and ...
, that was to continue into the 1980s.
In the early 1950s, Renault assembled at least two models; "Standard Saloon" and "De Luxe Saloon" in England.
In secrecy during the war, Louis Renault had developed the rear engine
In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is behind the rear axle. This is not to be confused with the center of gravity of the whole vehicle, as an im ...
4CV which was subsequently launched under Lefacheux in 1946. Renault debuted its flagship model, the largely conventional 2-litre 4-cylinder Renault Frégate
The Renault Frégate () is an executive saloon car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1951 and 1960. Estate variants, the Renault Domaine and the Renault Manoir, were introduced in 1956 and 1958 respectively.
Origins
The Frégate w ...
(1951–1960), shortly thereafter. The 4CV proved a capable rival for cars such as the Morris Minor
The Morris Minor is a British economy family car that made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1972 in th ...
and Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...
; its sales of more than half a million ensured its production until 1961.
After the success of the 4CV, Lefacheux continued to defy the postwar French Ministry of Industrial Production, which had wanted to convert Renault solely to truck manufacture, by directing the development of its successor. He oversaw the prototyping of the Dauphine (until his death), enlisting the help of artist Paule Marrot
Paule Marrot (17 April 1902 – 22 December 1987) was a Parisian textile designer widely known for her textile prints with a flat, two-dimensional, upbeat style — often with a floral pattern. She experienced strong popularity in the U.S. af ...
in pioneering the company's textile and color division.
The Dauphine sold well as the company expanded production and sales further abroad, including Africa and North America. The Dauphine sold well initially in the US, although it subsequently became outdated against increased competition, including from the country's nascent domestic compacts such as the Chevrolet Corvair
The Chevrolet Corvair is a compact car manufactured by Chevrolet for model years 1960–1969 in two generations. A response to the Volkswagen Beetle, it remains the only American-designed, mass-produced passenger car with a rear-mounted, air- ...
. Renault also sold the Renault Caravelle
The Renault Caravelle is a sports car manufactured and marketed by Renault for model years 1958–1968 in a single generation — as a rear-engine, rear-drive open two/four-seater designed by Pietro Frua of Carrozzeria Ghia, using the floorpan ...
roadster, which was called the Floride outside North America.
During the 1950s, Renault absorbed two small French heavy vehicle manufacturers (Somua
Somua, an acronym for ''Société d'outillage mécanique et d'usinage d'artillerie'', was a French company that manufactured machinery and vehicles. A subsidiary of Schneider-Creusot, Somua was based in Saint-Ouen, a suburb of Paris.
Overview
...
and Latil
Latil was a French automaker specializing in heavy duty vehicles, such as trucks, agricultural equipment, and buses, from 1898 to 1955. It had factories in Paris, Suresnes, and Marseille.
History
In 1897, Auguste Joseph Frederic Georges Latil ( ...
) and in 1955 merged them with its own truck and bus division to form the Société Anonyme de Véhicules Industriels et d'Equipements Mécaniques (Saviem).
Renault then launched two successful cars – the Renault 4
The Renault 4, also known as the 4L (pronounced "Quatrelle" in French), is a small economy car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1961 and 1994. Although the Renault 4 was marketed as a short station wagon, its minimal rear overhang ...
(1961–1992), a practical competitor for the likes of the Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV (french: link=no, deux chevaux(-vapeur), , lit. "two steam horse(power)s", meaning "two ''taxable'' horsepower") is an air-cooled front-engine, front-wheel-drive, economy family car, introduced at the 1948 Paris Mondial de l ...
, and the Renault 8
The Renault 8 (Renault R8 until 1964) and Renault 10 are two rear-engined, rear-wheel drive small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s.
The 8 was launched in 1962, and the 10, a more upmarket ver ...
. The larger rear-engined Renault 10 followed the success of the R8, and was the last rear-engined Renault. The company achieved success with the more modern and more upmarket Renault 16
The Renault 16 (R16) is a D-segment family hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The Renault 16 was the first French winner of the European Car of the Year award.
Market placement
In the early 1 ...
, a pioneering hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
launched in 1966, followed by the smaller Renault 6
The Renault 6 is a C-segment small family car manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault between 1968 and 1986.
The Renault 6 (R6) was launched at the 1968 Paris Motor Show, and was intended to be an upmarket alternative to the Ren ...
.
On 16 January 1970, the manufacturer celebrated the 25th anniversary of its 1945 rebirth as the nationalised ''Régie Nationale des Usines Renault''. The 1960s had been a decade of aggressive growth: a few months earlier, in October 1969, the manufacturer had launched the Renault 12
}), the other is the submodel designation TS. Sold as a sedan or a station wagon (TSW), it has a 1.4 litre carburetted C1J (Cléon) engine with and came with either a four- or a five-speed transmission.
Australia
The Renault 12 won Australia's ...
, combining the engineering philosophy of its hatchbacks with the more conservative "three-box" design. The four-door Renault 12
}), the other is the submodel designation TS. Sold as a sedan or a station wagon (TSW), it has a 1.4 litre carburetted C1J (Cléon) engine with and came with either a four- or a five-speed transmission.
Australia
The Renault 12 won Australia's ...
model fit between the Renault 6
The Renault 6 is a C-segment small family car manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault between 1968 and 1986.
The Renault 6 (R6) was launched at the 1968 Paris Motor Show, and was intended to be an upmarket alternative to the Ren ...
and Renault 16
The Renault 16 (R16) is a D-segment family hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The Renault 16 was the first French winner of the European Car of the Year award.
Market placement
In the early 1 ...
. The model was a success. 1970 was also the first year during which Renault produced more than a million cars in a single year, building 1,055,803.
Modern era (1972–1980)
The company's compact and economical Renault 5
The Renault 5 is a four-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also called S ...
model, launched in January 1972, was another success, anticipating the 1973 energy crisis
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
. Throughout the 1970s the R4, R5, R6, R12, R15, R16, and R17 maintained Renault's production with new models including the Renault 18
The Renault 18 is a large family car produced by French manufacturer Renault between 1978 and 1989, with South American production continuing until 1994. It formed the basis for the closely related Renault Fuego Coupé, with which it shared its ...
and Renault 20
The Renault 20 ''(R20)'' and Renault 30 ''(R30)'' are two executive cars produced by the French automaker Renault between 1975 and 1984. The most upmarket and expensive Renaults of their time, the two cars were almost identical with regard to she ...
.
During the mid-seventies, the already broad-based company diversified into more industries and continued to expand globally, including South East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
. The energy crisis led Renault to again attempt to attack the North American market. Despite the Dauphine's success in the United States in the late 1950s and an unsuccessful assembly project in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec
Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville is an off-island suburbs, off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River just east of Montreal. It lies on the west flank of Mont Saint-Bruno, one of the Mon ...
(1964–72), Renault began to disappear from North America at the end of the decade.
Renault acquired a controlling stake in Automobiles Alpine
The Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine (), is a French manufacturer of racing and sports cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954.
Jean Rédélé, the founder of Alpine, was originally a ...
in 1973, and over the decades, Renault developed a collaborative partnership with Nash Motors
Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1937. From 1937 to 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Nash production continued from 1954 to 195 ...
Rambler
Rambler or Ramble may refer to:
Places
* Rambler, Wyoming
* Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽), separates Tsing Yi Island and the mainland New Territories in Hong Kong
* The Ramble and Lake, Central Park, an area within New York City's Centra ...
and its successor American Motors Corporation
American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...
(AMC). From 1962 until 1967, Renault assembled complete knock down
A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...
(CKD) kits of the Rambler Classic
The Rambler Classic is an intermediate sized automobile that was built and sold by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from the 1961 through 1966 model years. The Classic took the place of the Rambler Six and Rambler Rebel V-8 names, which were ...
sedans in its factory in Belgium. Renault did not have large or luxury cars in its product line and the "Rambler Renault" was positioned as an alternative to the Mercedes-Benz "Fintail" cars. Later, Renault continued to make and sell a hybrid of AMC's Rambler American
The Rambler American is a compact car that was manufactured by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) between 1958 and 1969. The American was the second incarnation of AMC forerunner Nash Motors' compact Rambler that was introduced in 1950 an ...
and Rambler Classic
The Rambler Classic is an intermediate sized automobile that was built and sold by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from the 1961 through 1966 model years. The Classic took the place of the Rambler Six and Rambler Rebel V-8 names, which were ...
called the Renault Torino
The IKA Torino, later Renault Torino, is a mid-sized automobile made by Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA) under an agreement with American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1966. The 1966 Torino was IKA's first national product. IKA was eventually bo ...
in Argentina (sold through IKA-Renault). Renault partnered with AMC on other projects, such as a rotary concept engine in the late 1960s.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, the company established subsidiaries in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
, most notably Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...
in Romania, and South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
(many of which remain active) and forged technological cooperation agreements with Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
and Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
, (for instance, for the development of the PRV V6 engine, which was used in Renault 30
30 may refer to:
*30 (number), the natural number following 29 and preceding 31
*one of the years 30 BC, AD 30, 1930, 2030
Music
* ''30'' (Laurent Garnier album), 1997, by Laurent Garnier
* ''30'' (Harry Connick Jr. album), 2001
* ''30'' (James ...
, Peugeot 604
The Peugeot 604 is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1975 to 1985. 153,252 cars were sold during its 10-year production life. It was made in France and also assembled by Kia in South Korea.
The Pininfarina-designed ...
, and Volvo 260
The Volvo 200 Series (or 240 and 260 Series) is a range of mid-size cars produced by Swedish company Volvo Cars from 1974 until 1993, with more than 2.8 million total units sold worldwide. Like the Volvo 140 Series (1966 to 1974), from which it ...
in the late 1970s).
In the mid-1960s, Renault Australia was set up in Melbourne. The company produced and assembled models including the R8, R10, R12, R16, sporty R15, R17 coupes, R18, and R20. The unit closed in 1981 and the factory closed with LNC Industries taking over import and distribution of Renaults in Australia.
When Peugeot acquired Citroën and formed PSA
PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Posterior spinal artery
* Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins
* Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pros ...
, the group's collaboration with Renault was reduced, although established joint production projects were maintained. Prior its merging with Peugeot, Citroën sold to Renault the truck and bus manufacturer Berliet
Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and military vehicles among other vehicles based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. Founded in 1899, and apart from a five-year period from 1944 to 1949 when it was put into 'ad ...
[ in December 1974, merging it with its subsidiary Saviem in 1978 to create ]Renault Véhicules Industriels
Renault Trucks is a French commercial truck manufacturer with corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it has been a subsidiary of the Volvo Group since 2001.
From its beginnings in 1978 to 2002, the comp ...
, which became the only French manufacturer of heavy commercial vehicles.[ In 1976, Renault reorganised the company into four business areas: automobiles (for car and ]light commercial vehicles
A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both Cana ...
or LCVs), finance and services, commercial vehicles (coaches and trucks over 2.5 tons GVW), and minor operations under an industrial enterprises division (farm machinery, plastics, foundry, etc.). In 1980, Renault produced 2,053,677 cars and LCVs. The cars at the time were the Renault 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 30; the LCVs were the 4, 5, and 12 Société and the Estafette. The company added 54,086 buses/coaches and trucks.[
In North America, Renault partnered with ]American Motors Corporation
American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...
(AMC), lending AMC operating capital and buying a minority 22.5% stake in the company in late 1979. The first Renault model sold through AMC's dealerships was the R5, renamed Renault Le Car. Jeep
Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...
was keeping AMC afloat until new products, particularly the XJ Cherokee, could be launched. When the bottom fell out of the four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
(4×4) truck market in early 1980, AMC was in danger of bankruptcy. To protect its investment, Renault bailed AMC out with cash – at the price of a controlling 47.5% interest. Renault replaced some AMC executives, and Jose J. Dedeurwaerder of Renault became President of AMC.
The partnership resulted in the marketing of Jeep vehicles in Europe. The Jeep XJ Cherokee may have been a joint AMC/Renault project since some early sketches of the XJ series were made in collaboration by Renault and AMC engineers (AMC insisted that the XJ Cherokee was designed by AMC personnel; even though a former Renault engineer designed the Quadra-Link front suspension for the XJ series). The Jeep also used wheels and seats from Renault. Part of AMC's overall strategy was to save manufacturing costs by using Renault's parts and engineering expertise when practical. This led to the improvement of the venerable AMC inline six – a Renault/Bendix-based port electronic fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
system (usually called Renix
Renix (Renix Electronique) was a joint venture by Renault and Bendix Corporation, Bendix that designed and manufactured automobile electronic ignitions, fuel injection systems, electronic automatic transmission controls, and various engine sensors. ...
) transformed it into a modern, competitive powerplant with a jump from with less displacement (from 4.2 to 4.0 litres). The XJC Cherokee concept, which was conceived in 1983 as a successor to the XJ series, was also a joint collaboration with AMC and Renault engineers until the design was inherited by the Chrysler Corporation
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
in late 1987 after Renault divested AMC – which debuted in 1989 as the Jeep Concept 1 (evolving into the Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a range of mid-size SUVs produced by the American manufacturer Jeep. At its introduction, while most SUVs were still manufactured with body-on-frame construction, the Grand Cherokee has used a unibody chassis from the ...
in April 1992).
The Renault-AMC marketing effort in passenger cars was unsuccessful compared to the popularity of Jeep vehicles. This was because, by the time the Renault range was ready, the second energy crisis was over, taking with it much of the desire for economical, compact cars. One exception was the Renault Alliance
The Renault Alliance is a front-wheel drive, front-engine subcompact automobile manufactured and marketed in North America by American Motors Corporation (AMC) for model years 1983–1987. The Alliance and its subsequent hatchback variant, the ...
(an Americanised version of the Renault 9
The Renault 9 and Renault 11 are small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault for model years 1981–1988 in saloon (Renault 9) and hatchback (Renault 11) configurations — both were styled by the French automobile designer, Rob ...
), which debuted for the 1983 model year. Assembled at AMC's Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...
plant,[ the Alliance received '']Motor Trend
''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...
''s domestic Car of The Year Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards.
The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by ''Motor Trend'' magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of th ...
award in 1983. The Alliance's 72% US content allowed it to qualify as a domestic vehicle, making it the first car with a foreign nameplate to win the award. (In 2000, ''Motor Trend'' did away with separate awards for domestic and imported vehicles.) A surprising side effect of the AMC linkup was that Renault felt the effects of the Arab League boycott
The Arab League boycott of Israel is a strategy adopted by the Arab League and its member states to boycott economic and other relations between Arabs and the Arab states and Israel and specifically stopping all trade with Israel which adds to ...
of companies doing business with Israel, as AMC built Jeeps there under license. Plans to sell the Renault 9 in the Middle East were mothballed as a result.
Introductions in the US during the 1980s included the Renault Alliance GTA and GTA convertible – an automatic-top convertible with a 2.0 L engine – big for a car of its class and the Renault Fuego
The Renault Fuego (''Fire'' in Spanish) is a sport hatchback that was manufactured and marketed by Renault from 1980 to 1986, replacing the Renault 15 and 17 coupés of the 1970s.
Marketed in the United States by American Motors Corporatio ...
coupé. The Alliance was followed by the Encore
An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...
(US version of the Renault 11
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''E ...
), an Alliance-based hatchback.[ In 1982, Renault become the second European automaker to build cars in the US, after ]Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
. However, bland styling and poor product quality proved insurmountable.
Eventually, Renault sold AMC to Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
in 1987 after the assassination of Renault's chairman, Georges Besse
Georges Besse (25 December 1927 – 17 November 1986) was a French businessman who led several large state-controlled French companies. He was assassinated outside his Paris home by the terrorist group Action directe. At the time of his death he ...
by Action directe. The Renault Medallion
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
(Renault 21 in Europe) sedan and wagon was sold from 1987 until 1989 through Jeep-Eagle
Jeep-Eagle was the name of the automobile sales division created by the Chrysler, Chrysler Corporation after the United States dollar, US$2 billion takeover of American Motors, American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1987. The division marketed a va ...
dealerships. Jeep-Eagle was the division Chrysler created out of the former AMC. Renault imports ended after 1989. A completely new full-sized 4-door sedan, the Eagle Premier
The Eagle Premier is a full-size executive car that was developed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) during the 1980s through its partnership with Renault. This model was manufactured in the then-brand-new Brampton Assembly in Canada. Chrysle ...
, was developed during the partnership between AMC and Renault. The Premier design, as well as its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bramalea, Ontario
Bramalea (''Bram-a-lee'') is a large suburban district in the City of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Bramalea was created as an innovative "new town", and developed as a separate community from the city. Located in the former Chinguacousy Towns ...
, Canada, were the starting point for the sleek LH sedans such as the Eagle Vision
The Eagle Vision is a full-sized, front-wheel drive four-door sports sedan produced from 1992 until 1997. It was marketed by Eagle, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier (from which the Vision was derived). The Eagle Vision was bad ...
and Chrysler 300M
The Chrysler 300M is a full-size luxury sedan that was produced by Daimler/Chrysler from 1999 to 2004. It is a front-wheel drive, V6 engined car using the Chrysler LH platform. Versus its platform mates, the 300M was roughly shorter to make i ...
.
In early 1979, as part of its attempts to expand into the US market, Renault bought a 20% stake in truck manufacturer Mack. The aim of this operation was to make use of the company's extensive dealership network to distribute light trucks. In 1983, Renault increased its stake in Mack to 44.6%.[ In 1987, it transferred the ownership of a 42% stake to Renault Véhicules Industriels.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Renault increased its involvement in motorsport, with novel inventions such as ]turbochargers
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
in its Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
cars. Renault's Head of Engines, Georges Douin, orchestrated the installation of turbocharged engines across much of the Renault range beginning in 1980. 10% of all turbocharged European cars in 1984 were Renaults. The company's road car designs were revolutionary in other ways also – the Renault Espace
The Renault Espace is a five-door car manufactured by the French carmaker Renault since 1984 for five generations. It is classified as a large MPV/minivan within the M-segment. The first three generations of the Espace were amongst the first co ...
was one of the first minivan
Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...
s and was to remain the most well-known minivan in Europe for the next two decades. The second-generation Renault 5, the European Car of the Year-winning Renault 9
The Renault 9 and Renault 11 are small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault for model years 1981–1988 in saloon (Renault 9) and hatchback (Renault 11) configurations — both were styled by the French automobile designer, Rob ...
, and the most luxurious Renault yet, the aerodynamic 25, were all released in the early 1980s. At the same time, poor product quality damaged the brand. The ill-fated Renault 14
The Renault 14 is a compact car produced by the French manufacturer Renault between 1976 and 1983. It was first shown in January 1976 with production beginning in June of that year.
It was the first car to be produced in large volumes at the compa ...
may have been the culmination of these problems in the early 1980s.
Restructuring (1981–1995)
Renaults were somewhat successful on both road and track, including the 1984 Espace
Espace may refer to:
*ESPACE, a complexity class in computational complexity theory
*Espace musique, a Canadian radio service
*Espace 2, a Swiss radio station
*Radio Espace, a French radio station
*Espace Group, a French media company
*Group Espace ...
launch, which was Europe's first multi-purpose vehicle, a dozen years before any competitor. However, Renault was losing a billion francs a month totaling ₣12.5 billion in 1984. The government intervened and Georges Besse
Georges Besse (25 December 1927 – 17 November 1986) was a French businessman who led several large state-controlled French companies. He was assassinated outside his Paris home by the terrorist group Action directe. At the time of his death he ...
was installed as chairman; he set about cutting costs dramatically, selling many of Renault's non-core assets (Volvo stake, Gitane
Gitane is a French manufacturer of bicycles based in Machecoul, France; the name "Gitane" means gypsy woman. The brand was synonymous with French bicycle racing from the 1960s through the mid-1980s, sponsoring riders such as Jacques Anquetil (1963 ...
, Eurocar, and Renix), withdrawing almost entirely from motorsports
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
, and laying off many employees. This halved the deficit by 1986, but Besse was murdered by the communist terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
group '' Action Directe'' in November 1986. He was replaced by Raymond Lévy, who continued Besse's initiatives, slimming the company enough that by the end of 1987, Renault was more or less financially stable. However, while Besse was convinced that Renault needed a presence in the North American market and wanted to push forward with restructuring AMC, Lévy, facing domestic losses from Renault at home, and losses from AMC in the US, along with the political climate that led to Besse's assassination, decided to sell AMC to Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
that same year.
The Renault 9
The Renault 9 and Renault 11 are small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault for model years 1981–1988 in saloon (Renault 9) and hatchback (Renault 11) configurations — both were styled by the French automobile designer, Rob ...
, a small four-door family saloon, was voted European Car of the Year
The European Car of the Year ("ECOTY") award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964, by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are ''Auto'' (Ita ...
on its 1981 launch. It sold well in France, but was eventually eclipsed by its sister vehicle, the Renault 11
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''E ...
hatchback, as the hatchback body style became more popular in this size of the car. The Renault 5
The Renault 5 is a four-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also called S ...
entered its second generation in 1984 and continued to sell well. The long-running Renault 18
The Renault 18 is a large family car produced by French manufacturer Renault between 1978 and 1989, with South American production continuing until 1994. It formed the basis for the closely related Renault Fuego Coupé, with which it shared its ...
was replaced by the Renault 21
The Renault 21 is a large family car produced by French automaker Renault between 1986 and 1994. It was also sold in North America initially through American Motors dealers as the Renault Medallion and later through Jeep-Eagle dealers as the Eagle ...
early in 1986, adding a seven-seater estate badged as the Nevada or Savanna depending on where it was sold. Renault's top-of-the-range model in the 1980s was the Renault 25
The Renault 25 is an executive car produced by the France, French automotive industry, automaker Renault from 1983 to 1992.
The 25 was Renault's Flagship#Automotive, flagship, the most expensive, prestigious, and the largest vehicle in the co ...
, launched at the end of 1983.
In 1990, Renault strengthened its collaboration with Volvo by signing an agreement that allowed both companies to reduce vehicle conception costs and purchasing expenses. Renault had access to Volvo's expertise in upper market segments and in return, Volvo exploited Renault's designs for low and medium segments. In 1993, the two companies announced their intention to merge operations by 1 January 1994 and increased their cross-shareholding. The French accepted the merger, while Volvo shareholders rejected it.[
A revitalised Renault launched successful new cars in the early 1990s, accompanied by an improved marketing effort on European markets,][ including the 5 replacement, the ]Clio
In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing.
Etymology
Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί ...
in May 1990. The Clio was the first new model of a generation that replaced numeric identifiers with traditional nameplates. The Clio was voted European Car of the Year
The European Car of the Year ("ECOTY") award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964, by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are ''Auto'' (Ita ...
soon after its launch, and was one of Europe's best-selling cars in the 1990s, proving even more popular than its predecessor. Other important launches included the third-generation Espace
Espace may refer to:
*ESPACE, a complexity class in computational complexity theory
*Espace musique, a Canadian radio service
*Espace 2, a Swiss radio station
*Radio Espace, a French radio station
*Espace Group, a French media company
*Group Espace ...
in 1996 and the innovative Twingo
The Renault Twingo is a four-seater passenger city car manufactured and marketed by the French auto-maker Renault, introduced in 1992 and currently in its third generation.
The first generation Twingo (two door, front engine) debuted at the Pa ...
in 1992, the first car to be marketed as a city car MPV (multi-purpose vehicle
Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...
). The Twingo was roomier than any prior cars of its size range. Twingo sales reached 2.4 million in Europe, even though the original was only built for (Continental) left-hand drive
Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...
markets.
Privatisation and the alliance era (1996–2020)
It was eventually decided that the company's state-owned status was a detriment. By 1994, plans to sell shares to public investors were officially announced.[ The company was ]privatised
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
in 1996. This new freedom allowed the company to venture once again into markets in Eastern Europe and South America, including a new factory in Brazil and upgrades for its infrastructure in Argentina and Turkey. In December 1996, General Motors Europe
General Motors Europe (often abbreviated to GM Europe) was the European subsidiary of the American automaker General Motors ("GM"). The subsidiary was established by GM in 1986 and operated 14 production and assembly facilities in 9 countries, a ...
and Renault begun to collaborate in the development of LCVs, starting with the second generation Trafic
''Trafic'' (''Traffic'') is a 1971 Italian-French comedy film directed by Jacques Tati. ''Trafic'' was the last film to feature Tati's famous character of Monsieur Hulot, and followed the vein of earlier Tati films that lampooned modern society.
...
(codenamed X83).
Renault's financial problems were not all fixed by the privatisation, and Renault's president, Louis Schweitzer gave to his then deputy, Carlos Ghosn
Carlos Ghosn (; ; ar, كارلوس غصن; , born 9 March 1954) is a businessman who holds Brazilian and French nationality. Ghosn was the CEO of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Nis ...
, the task of confronting them. Ghosn elaborated a plan to cut costs for the period 1998–2000, reducing the workforce, revising production processes, standardising vehicle parts and pushing the launch of new models. The company also undertook organisational changes, introducing a lean production system with delegate responsibilities inspired by Japanese systems (the "Renault Production Way"), reforming work methods, and centralising research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
at its Technocentre to reduce vehicle conception costs while accelerating such conception.[
After Volvo's exit, Renault searched for a new partner to cope with an industry that was consolidating. Talks with BMW, ]Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
, Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
, PSA and others were held and yielded a relationship with Nissan, whose negotiations with Daimler had stalled. Starting on 27 March 1999, the Renault–Nissan Alliance is the first of its kind involving a Japanese and a French company, including cross-ownership. Renault initially acquired a 36.8% stake at a cost of £2.7 billion in Nissan, while Nissan, in turn, took a 15% non-voting stake in Renault. Renault continued to operate as a stand-alone company, but with the intent to collaborate with its alliance partner to reduce costs. The same year, Renault bought a 51% majority stake of the Romanian company Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...
for £408.5 million, thus returning after 30 years, in which time the Romanians had built over 2 million cars that primarily consisted of local versions of the Renault 8, 12 and 20. In 2000, Renault acquired a controlling stake
A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the major ...
of the newly formed South Korean Samsung Group
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
's automotive division for £59.5 million.
In Japan, Renault was formerly licensed by Yanase Co, Japan's premier seller of imported cars. However, as a result of Renault's purchase of an interest in Nissan in 1999, Yanase cancelled its licensing contract with Renault in the spring of 2000, and Nissan took over as the sole licensee, hence sales of Renault vehicles in Japan were transferred from ''Yanase Store'' locations to '' Nissan Red Stage Store'' locations.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Renault sold various assets to finance its inversions and acquisitions, refocusing itself as a car and van manufacturer. In 1999, the company sold its industrial automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
subsidiary, Renault Automation, to Comau
Comau (''COnsorzio MAcchine Utensili'') is an Italian multinational company in the automation field based in Turin, Italy, and part of the automaker Stellantis. The company is present in 13 countries and employs 4,000 people and provides services ...
and its engine parts division to TWR Engine Components.[ In 2001, Renault sold its 50% stake in bus/coach manufacturer ]Irisbus
IVECO Bus (formerly Irisbus) is a bus manufacturer with headquarters in Turin. IVECO Bus is now only a brand division of IVECO which is a company incorporated under Dutch law and listed on Borsa Italiana.
History IVECO (1975 - 1999)
In 1975 ...
to co-owner Iveco
IVECO, an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. The name IVECO first appeared in 1975 after a merger o ...
and its logistics
Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
subsidiary, CAT France, to Global Automotive Logistics.[ Following the sale of Renault Industriels to Volvo in 2001, the company retained a minority (but controlling) stake (20%) in the Volvo Group. In 2010 Renault reduced its shareholding to 6.5% and in December 2012 sold its remaining shares. In 2004, Renault sold a 51% majority stake in its agricultural machinery division, Renault Agriculture, to CLAAS. In 2006, CLAAS increased its ownership to 80% and in 2008 took full control.
In the twenty-first century, Renault developed a reputation for distinctive, outlandish design. The second generation of the ]Laguna
Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to:
People
* Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay
* Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist
* Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...
and Mégane featured ambitious, angular designs that turned out to be successful, The 2000 Laguna was the second European car to feature "keyless" entry and ignition
Ignition may refer to:
Science and technology
* Firelighting, the human act of creating a fire for warmth, cooking and other uses
* Combustion, an exothermic chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant
* Fusion ignition, the point at which a ...
. Less successful were the company's more upmarket models. The Avantime, a unique coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
multi-purpose vehicle
Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...
, sold poorly and was quickly discontinued while the luxury Vel Satis model also disappointed. However, the design inspired the lines of the second-generation Mégane, the maker's most successful car. As well as its distinctive styling, Renault was to become known for its car safety by the independent company Euro NCAP Thus, in 2001, the Laguna achieved a five-star rating, followed in 2004 by the Modus, and acquired control of AvtoVAZ
AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftoˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ ( rus, ВАЗ), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (russian: Во́лжский автомо ...
in 2008.
In April 2010, Renault–Nissan announced an alliance with Daimler. Renault supplied Mercedes-Benz with its brand new 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine
The term turbo-diesel, also written as turbodiesel and turbo diesel, refers to any diesel engine equipped with a turbocharger. As with other engine types, turbocharging a diesel engine can significantly increase its efficiency and power output, ...
and Mercedes-Benz provided a 2.0 litre four-cylinder petrol engine to Renault–Nissan. The resulting new alliance was to develop a replacement for the Smart
Smart or SMART may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014
* Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com
* ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper
* ''SMart'', a children's television ser ...
based on the Twingo.
In February 2010, Renault opened a new production factory near Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
, Morocco, with an annual output capacity of 170,000 vehicles. Initially, it manufactured the Dacia Lodgy
The Dacia Lodgy was a compact MPV which was unveiled jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia, officially launched at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.
Overview
Based on a new platform, the Lodgy is front-wheel ...
and Dacia Dokker
The Dacia Dokker is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle (LAV) built at the Renault factory in Tangier, Morocco. It was officially launched at the 2012 Casablanca Auto Show, and initially went on sale in Morocco in June 2012. It has been avai ...
models followed in October 2013 by the second generation Dacia Sandero
The Dacia Sandero is a subcompact car/supermini (B-segment) car produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since 2007, currently at its third generation. It has been also marketed as the Re ...
. The output capacity increased to 340,000 vehicles per year with the inauguration of a second production line. The site is located in a dedicated free trade area
A free-trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and ...
, neighboring Tanger Automotive City. According to Renault, the new factory emits zero carbon and industrial liquid discharges. Over 100,000 vehicles were produced there in 2013. Renault expects to eventually increase production at the Tangier plant to 400,000 vehicles per year.
In the 2010s, Renault increased its efforts to gain market share in the Chinese market. In 2013, it formed a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group
Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. known also as DFG is a Chinese holding company based in Wuhan, Hubei. Its H shares were listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Dongfeng Motor Group formed several joint ventures with other foreign automobile make ...
named as Dongfeng Renault
Dongfeng Renault Automobile Company (DRAC) or Dongfeng Renault was an equally owned Chinese joint venture between car manufacturers Dongfeng Motor Group and Renault aimed to produce and sell Renault-badged vehicles, established in 2013. The joint ...
, based on a failed previous venture with the Chinese company Sanjiang. In December 2017, it signed an agreement with Brilliance Auto
Huachen Automotive Group Holdings Co. Ltd., known for its brand name Brilliance Auto Group, was a Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer holding company headquartered in Shenyang. Its products include automobiles, microvans, and automotiv ...
to create a new joint venture (Renault Brilliance Jinbei) aimed at producing light commercial vehicles and minivans under the Renault, Jinbei
A (alternately or ) is a traditional set of Japanese clothing worn by men, women and children during summer. Consisting of a side-tying, tube-sleeved kimono-style top and a pair of trousers, were originally menswear only, though in recent ...
and Huasong marques. In December 2018, Renault announced it would acquire a "significant" stake in JMCG
Jiangling Motors Corporation Group Co., Ltd. (JMCG) is a Chinese state-owned holding mostly operating in the automotive industry. It was established in 1947 and is headquartered in Nanchang, Jiangxi.
JMCG has various production facilities and, ...
's electric vehicle subsidiary JMEV
JMEV is a joint venture headquartered in Nanchang, China, and owned by Groupe Renault (as a majority holder), Jiangling Motors Corporation Group (JMCG) and China Agricultural Development Construction Fund Corporation. JMEV is focused on the develo ...
. In July 2019, Renault took a 50% majority stake from JMEV through capital increase. In April 2020, Renault announced it planned to withdraw from the Dongfeng Renault venture, transferring its stake to Dongfeng.
In December 2012, the Algeria's National Investment Fund (FNI), the Société Nationale de Véhicules Industriels (SNVI), and Renault signed an agreement to establish a factory near the city of Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
, Algeria, with the aim of manufacturing Symbol units from 2014 onwards. The production output was estimated at 25,000 vehicles. The Algerian State has a 51% stake in the facility.
In September 2013, Renault launched its brand in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, with the aim of becoming one of the top European brands there until 2016. The model range at the time of the launch consisted of the Duster (locally assembled), the Koleos and the Mégane RS. Later, the Clio
In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing.
Etymology
Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί ...
and the Captur were also added.
In April 2015, the French government
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
upped their stake in Renault from 15% to 19.73% with the aim of blocking a resolution at the next annual general meeting that could reduce its control over the company. In 2017, the government sold back shares and returned to a 15% stake as agreed with Renault.
During 2016, Renault changed position on the viability of small (B-segment
The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 20 percent of ...
) diesel cars in Europe, as they become significantly more expensive when re-engineered to comply with new emissions regulations as a result of the Volkswagen emissions scandal
The Volkswagen emissions scandal, sometimes known as Dieselgate or Emissionsgate, began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Vol ...
. Renault believes that all small and some mid-size (C-segment
The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States.
In 2011, the C- ...
) will no longer be diesels by 2020. However, on Friday, 13 January 2017, Renault shares fell as the Paris prosecutor started an investigation into possible exhaust emissions cheating. The company later recalled 15,000 cars for emission testing and fixing. Renault, along with several other automobile companies, has been accused of manipulating the measurement equipment for pollution from diesel cars. Independent tests carried out by the German car club ADAC
ADAC, officially the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (), is Europe's largest motoring association. ADAC is the largest club (Verein) in Germany with around 21 million members. It would be more aptly described today as an individual mobi ...
proved that, under normal driving conditions, diesel vehicles, including the Renault Espace
The Renault Espace is a five-door car manufactured by the French carmaker Renault since 1984 for five generations. It is classified as a large MPV/minivan within the M-segment. The first three generations of the Espace were amongst the first co ...
, exceeded legal European emission limits for nitrogen oxide () by more than 10 times.[NOX control technologies for Euro 6 Diesel passenger cars, Market penetration and experimental performance assessment]
Liuhanzi Yang, Vicente Franco, Alex Campestrini, John German, and Peter Mock. ICCT in collaboration with ADAC, 3 September 2015. Renault denied any foul play, stating compliance with French and European standards.
In November 2018, Renault's CEO Ghosn was arrested by Japanese officials for allegedly underreporting his Nissan's salary, following an internal review conducted by the Japanese company. Renault traded shares fell more than 15% after the arrest was known. After Ghosn's arrest, the chief operating officer
A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...
and company deputy chief Thierry Bolloré
Thierry Yves Henri Bolloré (born 30 May 1963) is a French businessman, previously CEO of Jaguar Land Rover. He began his career at Michelin, then joined Faurecia in 2005 and Renault in 2012 as Chief Competitive Officer, then was named COO in 2 ...
became the acting CEO and the board director Philippe Lagayette the acting chairman. In January 2019, following Ghosn's resignation, Renault announced it had appointed Jean-Dominique Senard
Jean-Dominique Senard (born 7 March 1953) is a French industrialist in the automobile industry. On 11 May 2012, he succeeded Michel Rollier as chief executive officer of the Michelin tire company after joining the company as chief financial offic ...
as chairman and the acting CEO Bolloré as CEO. In October 2019, Bolloré was fired and replaced by Renault's CFO
The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financi ...
Clotilde Delbos
Clotilde Delbos (born 1967) is a French businesswoman who has been the deputy chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) of Renault since 1 January 2021. She was the CEO of Mobilize brand till 2020.
She is notable for taking c ...
as acting CEO. Bolloré said his dismissal was a "coup" by Senard. In January 2020, Renault announced it had named Italian Luca de Meo
Luca de Meo (born 13 June 1967) is an Italian automotive executive who is currently the CEO of Renault.
Early life and education
Born in Milan in 1967 to parents originating from Locorotondo, de Meo received a degree in Business Administration fro ...
as its new CEO, with him taking his post on 1 July. Delbos was named as his deputy.
In May 2020, Renault announced a cost-cutting plan aimed at eliminating 15,000 jobs worldwide, about 10% of the company's workforce, due to falling sales and the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Post-COVID (2021)
In January 2021, as part of a company revamp, Renault said it would divide its automotive division into four business units: Renault, Dacia and Lada, Alpine, and Mobilize (the latter for new "new mobility services").
On 15 February 2021, Renault launched SUV Kiger in India.
In April 2021, Renault said that its revenue fell by 1.1% from the beginning of 2021 until March and it will reduce car production and focus on models with higher margins.
In November 2022, Renault said it planned to spin off the electric car development into a subsidiary company
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company (law), company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company ...
called Ampere. It also planned to spin off its powertrain production and development operations (including internal combustion engines and hybrid systems) into a joint venture company
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to access ...
with Geely
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd (ZGH), commonly known as Geely (吉利 "auspicious"), is a Chinese multinational automotive company headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company is privately held by Chinese billionaire entrepreneu ...
as co-owner.[
]
Innovations
*1899 Louis Renault "Driving, speed-changing mechanism and reversing gear" Louis Renault invented a revolutionary ''direct drive'' gear with no drive belt, with much better uphill performances.
*1963 – Renault 8
The Renault 8 (Renault R8 until 1964) and Renault 10 are two rear-engined, rear-wheel drive small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s.
The 8 was launched in 1962, and the 10, a more upmarket ver ...
was the first serial car with four-wheel disc brake system
*1980 – First patents for "Braking distribution device for total adherence"
*1988 CARMINAT, a real-time system for location and weather information. This program received European support from 1988, under the code Eureka EU-55 CARMINAT. These innovations for the real-time location and human-machine interfaces are included in the Renault R-link system and Carminat TomTom
TomTom N.V. is a Dutch multinational developer and creator of location technology and consumer electronics. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom released its first generation of satellite navigation devices to market in 2004. ...
devices.
Controversies
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
which began on 24 February, many international, particularly Western companies pulled out of Russia. Unlike most of its Western competitors, Renault has been slow to announce any divestments or scaling back of its operations in Russia, drawing criticism. On 21 March, after a brief halt, Renault resumed production at the Renault Russia car plant near Moscow. On 23 March, while addressing the French National Assembly
The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...
, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
called for French companies, including Renault, to leave Russia. Later that day, Renault said it had "suspended" Renault Russia operations and was "assessing the available options" regarding its AvtoVAZ ownership. In May 2022, Renault signed agreements to sell 100% of its shares in Renault Russia to Moscow City entity and its 67.69% interest in AvtoVAZ to NAMI (the Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute). The agreement provides an option for Renault to buy back its interest in AvtoVAZ, exercisable at certain times during the next 6 years.
Motorsport
Renault took part in motorsport at the beginning of the 20th century, promoted by Marcel Renault
Marcel Renault (14 May 1872 – 26 May 1903) was a French racing driver and industrialist, co-founder of the carmaker Renault. He was the brother of Louis and Fernand Renault.
Renault was born in Paris; he and his brothers jointly founded the ...
's racing interests and over the years acquired companies with a sporting connection such as Gordini
Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini be ...
and Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
.
In the seventies, Renault set up a dedicated motorsport division called Renault Sport
Renault Sport () or Renaultsport, was the motorsport, performance and special vehicles division for Renault-badged cars. Renault Sport was officially established in 1976 as a merger between the Alpine and Gordini competition departments. It wa ...
, and, in 1978, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
with the Renault Alpine A442
The Renault Alpine A442 (also known as the Alpine Renault A442 ) is a sports prototype racing car, designed and built by Alpine, but funded and powered by Alpine's owners Renault, specifically to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Variants wer ...
. Renault has also achieved success in both rallying
Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...
and in Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
over the past few decades.
The company has also backed various one-make single-seater series such as Formula Renault
Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...
and the Formula Renault 3.5
The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...
. These two racing series were a step in the career of thousands of drivers, including Formula One champions Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
, Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
, Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
and Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...
, as well as IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
champion Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
.
Renault Sport develops and manufactures the Renault Sport-badged cars, as the Renault Clio RS (for Renault Sport) and the Renault Mégane RS
The Renault Mégane Renault Sport (alternatively Renault Mégane RS) is a series of high-performance hatchback models based on the Renault Mégane, produced since 2004 by the high-performance subsidiary company Renault Sport for its parent compa ...
, which own the world records in their categories, such as the Nürburgring, and the Suzuka circuit and awards from ''What Car?
''What Car?'' is a British monthly automobile magazine and website, currently edited by Steve Huntingford and published by Haymarket Consumer Media. Other team members include deputy editor Darren Moss and test editors Will Nightingale, Neil ...
'', '' Evo'', and other magazines.
Formula One
Renault introduced the turbo
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
engine to Formula One when they debuted their first car, the Renault RS01
The Renault RS01 was the first Formula One car to be powered by a turbocharged engine. It was also the first to use radial tyres, which were provided by Michelin. Designed by André de Cortanze and Jean-Pierre Jabouille, it first appeared at the ...
at Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
in 1977. The Renault team continued until 1986. From 1989 Renault supplied engines for the successful Williams-Renault
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Head ...
car.
Renault took over the Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000, the te ...
team in 2000 for the 2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
season and renamed it Renault F1
The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...
in 2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
. In 2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and 2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
the team won the Constructors' and Drivers' titles (with Fernando Alonso). At the 2005 French Grand Prix
The 2005 French Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grand Prix de France 2005) was a Formula One motor race held on 3 July 2005 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours near Magny-Cours in France. It was the tenth race of the 2005 FIA Formula One Wor ...
Carlos Ghosn
Carlos Ghosn (; ; ar, كارلوس غصن; , born 9 March 1954) is a businessman who holds Brazilian and French nationality. Ghosn was the CEO of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Nis ...
set out his policy regarding the company's involvement in motorsport:
: "We are not in Formula One out of habit or tradition. We're here to show our talent and that we can do it properly ... Formula One is a cost if you don't get the results. Formula One is an investment if you do have them and know how to exploit them."
Renault powered the winning 2010 Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...
team, and took a similar role with its old team in December 2010, when it sold its final stake to the investment group Genii Capital
Genii Capital (simply known as Genii and stylized as GƎИII) is an international financial advisory and investment firm, which specialises in brand management, technology, motorsport and a range of venture capital activities. It was created in 20 ...
, the main stakeholder since December 2009, ending Renault's direct role in running a F1 team for the second time.
Renault bought the Enstone-based team for the 2016 season, rebranding it Renault. In 2021, the team was renamed Alpine F1 Team
Alpine F1 Team, competing as BWT Alpine F1 Team, is a Formula One constructor which made its debut at the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault ...
and became part of the new Alpine business unit, with Renault retained as the engine nameplate.
Rallying
Renault has been involved in rallying
Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...
from an early era. Marcel Renault won the 1902 Rallye Paris-Vienna, but lost his life while competing in the 1903 Paris-Madrid rally.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Renault manufactured several small cars with rear wheel drive
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars.
Most rear-wheel ...
in some cases, as the 4CV, the R8 or the Dauphine. These cars were well-adapted to the rally of the time, and the tuner Amedee Gordini collaborated with its performance.[ In the 1950s the Renault Dauphine won several international rallies, including the 1956 ]Mille Miglia
The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...
and the 1958 Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...
.
In 1973, Renault took control of Automobiles Alpine
The Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine (), is a French manufacturer of racing and sports cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954.
Jean Rédélé, the founder of Alpine, was originally a ...
, a related company for several years, which was responsible for building successful rally cars such as the A110. A highly evolved A110 won the first World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
, representing Alpine-Renault.[
In 1976, the Alpine's competition department and the Gordini factory at Viry-Chatillon were merged into Renault Sport.][ The focus shifted to Formula One, although Renault achieved several victories including the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally with the ]Renault 5 Turbo
The Renault 5 Turbo or R5 Turbo is a sport hatchback automobile launched by the French manufacturer Renault at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1980. The car was primarily designed for rallying, but was also sold in a street version.
A total ...
[ before retirement from the world rally in late 1994.][
Renault cars also participate of ]cross-country
Cross country or cross-country may refer to:
Places
* Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland
* Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY
* Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...
races, most prominently the Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...
. The Marreau brothers won the 1982 edition driving a Renault 20
The Renault 20 ''(R20)'' and Renault 30 ''(R30)'' are two executive cars produced by the French automaker Renault between 1975 and 1984. The most upmarket and expensive Renaults of their time, the two cars were almost identical with regard to she ...
Turbo
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
4x4
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
prototype.
Later, Renault provided a Renault Megane platform and sponsored the Schlesser Schlesser is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Émile V. Schlesser (born 1986), Luxembourgish film director, screenwriter, composer, and multimedia artist
*Jean-Louis Schlesser (born 1947), French racing driver
*Jo Schlesser
J ...
-Renault Elf
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
buggies that won the 1999 and 2000 editions. The 1999 car was the first two-wheel drive
Two-wheel-drive (2WD) denotes Motor vehicle, vehicles with a Powertrain, drivetrain that allows two wheels to be driven, and receive Engine power, power and torque from the engine, simultaneously.
Four-wheeled vehicles
For four-wheeled vehicles ( ...
Dakar's winner.
Renaults won the European Rally Championship
The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
The champions ...
four times, in 1970, 1999, 2004 and 2005.
Financial data
Corporate governance
Renault's head office is in Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...
.[BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT – RSAS]
." Renault. Retrieved 22 September 2009. The head office is located near the old Renault factories; Renault has maintained a historical presence in Boulogne-Billancourt since the company's opening in 1898.
Renault is administered through a board of directors, an executive committee and a management committee. , members of the 19-seat board include Jean-Dominique Senard (as chairman), Cherie Blair
Cherie, Lady Blair, (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Tony Blair.
Early life and education
Booth ...
, Catherine Barba
Catherine Barba Chiaramonti (born 28February 1973) is a French entrepreneur and business executive who is active in digital retail. Her company, Catherine Barba Group, specializes in assisting retail startups with entering the digital market.
...
and Pascale Sourisse
Pascale Sourisse (born 7 March 1962) is a French businesswoman.
Born in Nantes, Pascale Sourisse graduated from the École Polytechnique (class of 1981) and Télécom ParisTech. She held management positions at the Compagnie Générale des Ea ...
. Clotilde Delbos
Clotilde Delbos (born 1967) is a French businesswoman who has been the deputy chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) of Renault since 1 January 2021. She was the CEO of Mobilize brand till 2020.
She is notable for taking c ...
is the acting CEO.
Products and technologies
Current models
Current model line up, with calendar year of introduction:
* Clio
In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing.
Etymology
Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί ...
(1990–present; hatchback)
* Twingo
The Renault Twingo is a four-seater passenger city car manufactured and marketed by the French auto-maker Renault, introduced in 1992 and currently in its third generation.
The first generation Twingo (two door, front engine) debuted at the Pa ...
(1992–present; hatchback)
* Mégane (1995–present; hatchback, estate)
** Mégane E-Tech Electric
The Renault Megane E-Tech Electric is a battery electric-powered small family car produced by the French car manufacturer Renault since 2022. Using the Megane nameplate, the vehicle is the first Renault model based on a dedicated electric vehi ...
(2021–present; crossover SUV)
* Kangoo
The Renault Kangoo is a family of multi purpose vehicles manufactured and marketed by Renault since 1997, in commercial as well as passenger variants, across three generations. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plan ...
(1997–present; developed by Renault and sold in some markets as the Mercedes-Benz Citan
The Mercedes-Benz Citan is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle introduced as a badge-engineered variant of the Renault Kangoo in 2012 and marketed by Mercedes-Benz as the successor to the Vaneo compact MPV. In the Mercedes-Benz van lineup, ...
and the Nissan Townstar
The Renault Kangoo is a family of multi purpose vehicles manufactured and marketed by Renault since 1997, in commercial as well as passenger variants, across three generations. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plan ...
)
* Twizy (2012–present)
* Zoe (2012–present; hatchback)
* Captur (2013–present)
* Duster Oroch (Latin America only) (2015–present; pick-up)
* Kwid
KWID (101.9 FM, "La Buena 101.9") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Las Vegas, Nevada. The station is owned by Lotus Communications and broadcasts a Spanish-language adult hits format. The KWID studios are located in the uninco ...
(China, India, and Latin America only) (2015–present; hatchback)
* Alaskan
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
(Latin America only) (2016–present; pick-up)
* Triber (India only) (2019–present; mini MPV)
* Kiger (India only) (2021–present)
* Taliant (Africa, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Middle East only) (2021–present; restyled Dacia Logan
The Dacia Logan is a family of automobiles produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since mid-2004, and was the successor to the Dacia 1310 and Dacia Solenza. It has been produced as a ...
)
* Austral (2022–present)
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...
vehicles, sold in some markets under the Renault marque:
* Logan
Logan may refer to:
Places
* Mount Logan (disambiguation)
Australia
* Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly
* Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud
* Logan City, local gover ...
(2004–present)
* Sandero (2008–present)
* Duster (2009–present)
Renault Samsung
Renault Korea Motors ( ko, 르노코리아자동차), is a South Korean car manufacturer headquartered in Busan where its single assembly site is also located, with additional facilities at Seoul (administration), Giheung (research and develop ...
vehicles, sold in some markets under the Renault marque:
* Koleos (2008–present; Renault Samsung QM5/Renault Samsung QM6)
* Arkana (2020–present; Renault Samsung XM3)
Renault light commercial vehicles
A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both Cana ...
:
* Master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
(1980–present; developed by Renault and sold in some markets as the Nissan Interstar
The Renault Master is a large van produced by the French manufacturer Renault since 1980, now in its third generation. It replaced the earlier Renault Super Goélette light trucks. Opel has sold versions of the second and third series vans a ...
)
* Trafic
''Trafic'' (''Traffic'') is a 1971 Italian-French comedy film directed by Jacques Tati. ''Trafic'' was the last film to feature Tati's famous character of Monsieur Hulot, and followed the vein of earlier Tati films that lampooned modern society.
...
(1980–present; developed by Renault and sold in some markets as the Mitsubishi Express
Mitsubishi Express is an automobile nameplate that has been used in Australia on three different models by the Japanese car manufacturer, Mitsubishi Motors:
Between 1980 and 1986, Mitsubishi in Australia sold the following vehicles:
* Mitsubishi ...
and the Nissan Primastar
The Renault Trafic (pronounced as "traffic") is a light commercial van produced by the French automaker Renault since 1980. It is also marketed as the Fiat Talento, the Nissan NV300, the Nissan Primastar, the Mitsubishi Express and, until the ...
)
* Kangoo
The Renault Kangoo is a family of multi purpose vehicles manufactured and marketed by Renault since 1997, in commercial as well as passenger variants, across three generations. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plan ...
(1997–present; developed by Renault and sold in some markets as the Mercedes-Benz Citan
The Mercedes-Benz Citan is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle introduced as a badge-engineered variant of the Renault Kangoo in 2012 and marketed by Mercedes-Benz as the successor to the Vaneo compact MPV. In the Mercedes-Benz van lineup, ...
and the Nissan Townstar
The Renault Kangoo is a family of multi purpose vehicles manufactured and marketed by Renault since 1997, in commercial as well as passenger variants, across three generations. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plan ...
)
* Express
Express or EXPRESS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn
* '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid
Music
* ''Express'' ...
(2021–present; developed by Renault and sold in some markets as the Mercedes-Benz Citan
The Mercedes-Benz Citan is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle introduced as a badge-engineered variant of the Renault Kangoo in 2012 and marketed by Mercedes-Benz as the successor to the Vaneo compact MPV. In the Mercedes-Benz van lineup, ...
and the Nissan Townstar
The Renault Kangoo is a family of multi purpose vehicles manufactured and marketed by Renault since 1997, in commercial as well as passenger variants, across three generations. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plan ...
)
Dacia light commercial vehicles, sold in some markets under the Renault marque:
* Dokker (2012–present)
* Duster Commercial (2017–present)
Concept cars
Renault concept cars show future design and technology directions. Since 2008, Renault has displayed various all-electric car
An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...
concepts
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by sev ...
under the name "Z.E.", for zero emission Zero emission refers to an engine, motor, process, or other energy source, that emits no waste products that pollute the environment or disrupt the climate.
Zero emission engines
Vehicles and other mobile machinery used for transport (over land, se ...
, starting with a concept based on the Renault Kangoo
The Renault Kangoo is a family of multi purpose vehicles manufactured and marketed by Renault since 1997, in commercial as well as passenger variants, across three generations. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plan ...
Be Bop. Further concepts and announcements followed, with the production of the Fluence Z.E. saloon beginning in 2011 and the Renault Zoe
The Renault Zoe (stylized as ZOE and pronounced as "Zoey"), known as Renault Zoe E-Tech Electric since 2021, is a five-door supermini electric car produced by the French manufacturer Renault. Renault originally unveiled, under the Zoe name, a ...
in 2012.
Renault revealed the Ondelios hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
concept in 2008. but this was overtaken by the Z.E. programme. However, Renault presented a new hybrid car in September 2014, the Eolab, which incorporates various innovations that the company said will be added to production models by 2020.
In 2014 at the New Delhi Auto Show, Renault announced a new model, the Kwid Concept, which comes with helicopter drone.
Electric vehicles
In 2013, Renault became the leader of electric vehicles sales in Europe, thanks to its large range of vehicles (Twizy, Zoe, Fluence, Kangoo). The Renault Zoe
The Renault Zoe (stylized as ZOE and pronounced as "Zoey"), known as Renault Zoe E-Tech Electric since 2021, is a five-door supermini electric car produced by the French manufacturer Renault. Renault originally unveiled, under the Zoe name, a ...
was Europe's best selling all-electric car
An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...
in 2015 and 2016. Global Zoe sales reached the 50,000 unit mark in June 2016,[ ", cumulative global sales of the top selling plug-in electric cars were led by the Nissan Leaf (about 225,000), Tesla Model S (over 129,000), Votl/Ampera family (over 117,000), Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (about 107,000), Toyota Prius PHV (over 75,000), BYD Qin (56,191), Renault Zoe (51,193), and BMW i3 (almost 50,000)."] and achieved the 150,000 unit milestone in June 2019. Groupe Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of ...
global electric vehicle sales passed the 100,000 unit milestone in September 2016.[ ''The Alliance has sold its 350,000th electric vehicle since December 2010, when the Nissan LEAF went on sale. The milestone was achieved in August 2016. The Alliance also set an industry record of 100,000 EVs sold in a single year.''] Since the launch of the Renault electric program, the Group has sold more than 273,550 electric vehicles worldwide through December 2019. Since inception, a total of 181,893 Zoe city cars, 48,821 Kangoo Z.E. electric vans, 29,118 Twitzy heavy quadricycle
The quadricycle is a European Union vehicle category for four-wheeled microcars, which allows these vehicles to be designed to less stringent requirements when compared to regular cars. Quadricycles are defined by limitations in terms of weigh ...
s, and 10,600 Fluence Z.E. cars have been sold globally through December 2019.[ ''See pp. 24 and 39. Since inception, a total of 181,893 Zoe cars, 48,821 Kangoo Z.E. electric vans, 29,118 Twitzy heavy quadricycles, and 10,600 Fluence Z.E. cars have been sold globally through December 2019.'']
Beginning in 2008, Renault made agreements for its planned zero-emissions products, including with Israel, Portugal, Denmark and the US states of Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
in Japan and the Principality of Monaco. Serge Yoccoz is the electric vehicle project director.
In 2008, Renault–Nissan signed a deal to produce electric cars for an initiative in Israel with Better Place, a US company developing new non-petroleum–based transport infrastructure. Renault aimed to sell 10–20,000 cars a year in Israel. Renault also agreed to develop exchangeable batteries for the project. Renault collaborated with Better Place to produce a network of all-electric vehicles and thousands of charging station
A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles (including electric cars, electric trucks, electric ...
s in Denmark, planned to be operational by 2011. The Renault Fluence Z.E.
The Renault Fluence Z.E. is an electric version of the Renault Fluence compact sedan, part of the Renault Z.E. program of battery electric vehicles. It was unveiled by Renault at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Fluence Z.E. is outfitted with a ...
, was selected for the Israel project. It became the first zero-emission vehicle with a switchable battery, with trials in 2010 undertaken with the Renault Laguna
The Renault Laguna is a large family car that was manufactured and marketed by Renault for 21 years in three body styles: hatchback, coupé, and estate. The first generation Laguna was launched in 1994, the second generation was introduced in 200 ...
. Renault ended the partnership in 2013, following Better Place's bankruptcy, with only 1,000 vehicle sales in Israel and 240 in Denmark.
Renault–Nissan and the largest French electric utility
An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major pr ...
, Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. (literally ''Electricity of France''), commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational electric utility company, largely owned by the French state. Headquartered in Paris, with €71.2 billion in revenues in 2 ...
(EDF), signed an agreement to promote electric vehicles in France. The partnership planned to pilot projects on battery management and charging infrastructure. Renault–Nissan also signed deals with Ireland's Electricity Supply Board
The Electricity Supply Board (ESB; ga, Bord Soláthair an Leictreachais) is a state owned (95%; the rest are owned by employees) electricity company operating in the Republic of Ireland. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as ...
(ESB), and in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
as part of the UK's Plugged in Places national project.
According to Ghosn, the Renault–Nissan alliance was a fundamental step in electric car
An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...
development, and that they needed each other for other issues such as battery manufacturing, charging infrastructure
A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles (including electric cars, electric trucks, electric ...
and business strategy.
The Renault–Nissan group is a member of the PHEV Research Center
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the Uni ...
. In September 2013, Renault and Bolloré
Bolloré SE () is a French conglomerate headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. Founded in 1822, the company has interests in Vivendi, international freight forwarding, oil storage and pipelines in France, solid state ...
announced an agreement to collaborate on a new electric vehicle and in car-sharing project.
In 2021, Renault launched a new EV and mobility brand called Mobilize and showed a prototype for a small Twizy-style EV called the EZ-1. Renault Group also invested into a start-up company Verkor, that should develop EV batteries and about in 2026 build a gigafactory in France.
By 2025 the yearly output of 400,000 electric vehicles is planned.
Eco²
In 2007 Renault introduced a new line of eco-friendly derivatives marked eco² that were based on production platforms. A minimum of 5% recycled plastic was used and the vehicle's materials were 95% reusable. Eco²'s CO2 emissions were not to exceed 140g/km, or would be biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
compatible. At the 2008 Fleet World Honours, Renault received the Environment Award. The chairman of Judges, George Emmerson, commented, "This was the most hotly contested category in the history of the Fleet World Honours, such is the clamour for organizations' green credentials to be recognised. There were some very impressive entries, but the panel felt that Renault's impressive range of low-emission vehicles was the most tangible, and the most quantifiable.
R-Link
The R-Link infotainment
Infotainment (a portmanteau of ''information'' and ''entertainment''), also called soft news as a way to distinguish it from serious journalism or hard news, is a type of media, usually television or online, that provides a combination of infor ...
system, developed by Renault and the CCETT labs during the 1980s, produced with TomTom and fitted in Renault's vehicles, was ranked first in a user accessibility study performed by an independent consulting British company SBD. R-Link received 85% of the users' satisfaction, whereas the second "big five" automotive maker got a 10% lower satisfaction from the users.
Autonomous vehicles
Renault plans to introduce autonomous vehicle
Vehicular automation involves the use of mechatronics, artificial intelligence, and multi-agent systems to assist the operator of a vehicle (car, aircraft, watercraft, or otherwise).Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Lanzon, A.,Group Coordinated Control o ...
technology by 2020. The company unveiled a prototype, the Next Two (based on the Zoe), in February 2014.
Vehicle design
Design
"Pre-design" era
During its early years, Renault only manufactured the cars' chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
, while the bodywork was completed by coachbuilder
A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
s. The first car with Renault's bodywork was the "Taxi de la Marne" introduced in 1905.[ Most Renault-made bodyworks were simple and ]utilitarian
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charac ...
until the Reinastella unveiling in 1928. In the 1930s, Renault developed streamlined cars such as the Viva Grand Sport. In the 1950s, the company worked with Ghia
Carrozzeria Ghia SpA (established 1916 in Turin) is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Marconi, 4, Turin ...
designers.
Renault Styling
In 1961, with the assistance of the independent designer Philippe Charbonneaux
Philippe Charbonneaux (18 February 1917 – 4 June 1998) was a French industrial designer, best known for automobile and truck design, but also known for other products such as television sets. Many of his works are now exhibited in places s ...
(responsible for the R8), the company created Renault Styling as a design department, led by Gaston Juchet
Gaston Juchet () was a French engineer, known for being the chief designer of Renault between 1963 and 1975 and again between 1984 and 1987.
Early life and career
Gaston Juchet's interest in drawing begun when he was a boarder at the Lycée Lou ...
since 1963. In 1975, Robert Opron
Robert Opron (22 February 1932 – 29 March 2021) was a French automotive designer. He created or collaborated on numerous projects that became production cars for brands that included Simca, Renault, and Fiat. He is best known for his work at ...
was named chief designer[ and Renault Styling was divided into Interior, Exterior and Advanced Design groups.]
In the 1960s, an in-house computer-aided design
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...
(CAD) computer-aided manufacturing
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) also known as computer-aided modeling or computer-aided machining is the use of software to control machine tools in the manufacturing of work pieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most ...
(CAM) system called UNISURF UNISURF was a pioneering surface CAD/CAM system, designed to assist with car body design and tooling. It was developed by French engineer Pierre Bézier for Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally ...
was introduced, led by Pierre Bézier
Pierre Étienne Bézier (1 September 1910 – 25 November 1999; ) was a French engineer and one of the founders of the fields of solid, geometric and physical modelling as well as in the field of representing curves, especially in computer-ai ...
(who popularised Bézier curve
A Bézier curve ( ) is a parametric curve used in computer graphics and related fields. A set of discrete "control points" defines a smooth, continuous curve by means of a formula. Usually the curve is intended to approximate a real-world shape t ...
s and worked at Renault from 1933 until 1975).
Industrial Design Department
In 1987, Renault named Patrick le Quément Patrick may refer to:
* Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name
* Patrick (surname), list of people with this name
People
* Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint
*Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...
as chief designer and created the Industrial Design Department to replace Renault Styling. The new division incorporated a new management system, with more technology and personnel. Renault gave it the same importance as Engineering and Product Planning, participating in product development.
Le Quément was responsible for bold designs such as the Mégane II and the Vel Satis, giving Renault a more coherent and stylish image. In 1995, Design and Quality were merged under le Quément's direction. Later, the new department moved to Guyancourt
Guyancourt () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris, in the "new town" of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
Geography ...
's Technocentre, which also became the base for Engineering and Product Planning. The group was organised in three sections: Automobile Design; Truck, LCV and Bus Design; and Concept Cars and Advanced Design. During the next years, satellite centres opened in Spain (1999), Paris (2000), South Korea (2003), Romania (2007), India (2007), Brazil (2008) and China (2019).
At the end of 2009, le Quément was replaced by Laurens van den Acker
Laurens van den Acker (born 5 September 1965, Deurne, North Brabant) is a Dutch automobile designer.
Biography
Van den Acker studied at the Delft University of Technology, where he obtained a Master of Engineering at the Faculty of Industri ...
, who introduced the "cycle of life" concept to Renault's design.
Engineering and Product Planning
Most of Renault engineering was decentralised until 1998, when the Technocentre became the main Renault's engineering facility. Satellite centres exist, including Renault Technologies Americas (with branches in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico), Renault Technologies Romania (branches in Morocco, Russia, Slovenia and Turkey) and Renault Technologies Spain (branch in Portugal). , Renault's engineering section had over 6,500 employees worldwide, of which 34% were engineers and 63% technicians. Engine development is in charge of a specific division, Renault Powertrains, with nearly 65 engineers. Overseas engineering is increasing and research and design teams are in charge of adjusting existing vehicles to local needs and budgets.
, Engineering, and Product Planning, are directed by Gaspar Gascon Abellan and Philippe Klein
Philippe Klein () is a French born engineer and businessman. He currently serves as Chief Planning Officer of the multi-national Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan.
Education
Born in 1957, Klein was educated at the École Supérieure de Ph ...
respectively.
Technocentre
The Renault Technocentre () is the main research and development facility. It is located in Guyancourt
Guyancourt () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris, in the "new town" of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
Geography ...
. It covers and integrates all departments involved in developing products and industrial processes (design, engineering and product planning) as well as supplier representatives. The Technocentre gathers more than 8,000 employees and comprises three main sections: The Advance Precinct, The Hive and the prototype build centre. The Advance Precinct, a stepped structure surrounded by a lake, has design studios and other departments related to early design stages. The Hive is the tallest structure and includes research and engineering facilities dedicated to the development process of new vehicles. The prototype build centre is an extension of The Hive. The three main structures are accompanied by smaller technical buildings.[
The Technocentre was one of the first enterprises to have real-time life-size 3D modelling systems.
]
Renault Tech
Renault Tech is a division of Renault Sport Technologies, headquartered in Les Ulis
Les Ulis () is a commune in the Essonne department located in the southwestern suburbs (banlieue) of Paris, France. It is from the centre of Paris.
Location
Les Ulis is a new town located in the Île-de-France, in the south-west of the Par ...
. It was established in 2008 and is in charge of modifying cars and vans for special purposes ( mobility cars, driver's school cars, and business fleets).
Subsidiaries and alliances
Subsidiaries
AvtoVAZ
In February 2008, Renault acquired a 25% share in AvtoVAZ
AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftoˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ ( rus, ВАЗ), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (russian: Во́лжский автомо ...
, known for its Lada range of vehicles. VAZ had been seeking a strategic partner since the late nineties. After severing its original ties with Fiat, the company had little success in forming an alliance with various firms.
Renault began intermittent talks with AvtoVAZ in 2005, initially insisting that CKD assemble Logans at its facilities, while VAZ intended to keep its own Lada brand and sought only a new platform and engine. After several rounds of talks, interrupted by VAZ's attempts to ally with Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
and Magna, Renault agreed to the partnership under terms similar to its Nissan deal. Renault and Rosoboronexport
JSC Rosoboronexport (russian: AO Рособоронэкспорт, ''Rosoboroneksport'') is the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services. The Rosoboronexport F ...
, the state corporation that was a major stockholder of VAZ, discussed Renault increasing its stake in VAZ to 50%. Following an AvtoVAZ recapitalisation in 2016, Renault held 73.3 of the company, making it a subsidiary. On May 16, 2022, Renault Group announced it sold its 67.69% interest in AvtoVAZ to the Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute, NAMI.
Dacia
In 1999, Renault acquired a 51% controlling stake from the Romanian-based manufacturer Automobile Dacia
S.C. Automobile Dacia S.A., commonly known as Dacia (), is a Romanian car manufacturer that takes its name from the historical region that constitutes present-day Romania. The company was established in 1966. In 1999, after 33 years, the Rom ...
, which was later increased to 99.43%. As part of the Renault group, Dacia is a regional marque of entry-levels cars focused on Europe and Northern Africa which shares various models with the Renault marque.[
]
Renault Samsung Motors
Renault acquired the car division of Samsung on 1 September 2000 in a $560 million deal for 70% of the company, eventually increasing its stake to 80.1%. Renault Samsung Motors is a marque used almost exclusively in South Korea (although some models are sold in Chile). The majority of the company's production at its Busan plant is exported under the Renault badge.
RCI Banque
RCI Banque is a wholly owned subsidiary that provides financial services for Renault marques worldwide and Nissan marques in Europe, Russia and South America.
Renault Retail Group
Renault Retail Group is Renault's wholly owned automobile distributor for Europe. In 1997, the French branches were merged to establish the subsidiary Renault France Automobiles (RFA). In 2001, it served as the basis for Renault Europe Automobiles (REA), which managed sales in Europe. In 2008, the company adopted its current name. Renault Retail Group operates in France, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Manufacturing subsidiaries
=French factories
=
*Batilly, subsidiary Société de Véhicules Automobiles de Batilly
Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.
Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the se ...
(SoVAB)
*Choisy
*Cléon
*Dieppe, Société des Automobiles Alpine
*Douai
Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...
*Douvrin, subsidiary Française de Mécanique (FM), equally owned by Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroën
* Flins
*Grand-Couronne
*Le Mans, subsidiary Auto Châssis International (ACI)
*Maubeuge, subsidiary Maubeuge Construction Automobile
Maubeuge Construction Automobile (; MCA) is a subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault created in 1980 to operate the light commercial vehicle plant located at Maubeuge. The company traces its origins back to a Chausson factory establis ...
(MCA).
*Ruitz, subsidiary Société des Transmissions Automatiques (STA) owned by Renault (80%) and PSA Peugeot Citroën (20%)
*Sandouville
Sandouville () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime ''Departments of France, département'' in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France.
Geography
A farming and light industry, light industrial vi ...
=Manufacturing subsidiaries outside France
=
*Cacia (Portugal)
* Cormecánica S.A. (Chile)
*JMEV
JMEV is a joint venture headquartered in Nanchang, China, and owned by Groupe Renault (as a majority holder), Jiangling Motors Corporation Group (JMCG) and China Agricultural Development Construction Fund Corporation. JMEV is focused on the develo ...
(China), a joint venture majority owned by Renault and with JMCG
Jiangling Motors Corporation Group Co., Ltd. (JMCG) is a Chinese state-owned holding mostly operating in the automotive industry. It was established in 1947 and is headquartered in Nanchang, Jiangxi.
JMCG has various production facilities and, ...
as the second largest shareholder[
*]Oyak-Renault
Oyak Renault Otomobil Fabrikaları or Oyak-Renault is a Turkish automotive manufacturer located in Bursa. It is co-owned by OYAK (Turkish: Ordu Yardımlaşma Kurumu, English: Army Pension Fund) and Renault. Oyak owns 49% and Renault owns 51% of th ...
(Turkey), a joint venture between Renault and Oyak (Turkey's Armed Forces Pension Fund), established in 1969
*Renault Algérie (Algeria), a joint venture between SNVI (51%) and Renault (49%), established in 2012
*Renault Argentina
Renault Argentina is the Argentine subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault. It is one of the oldest Renault operations in the world and is ranked consistently in first place by sales between the local automakers.
Renault Argentina was off ...
(Argentina)
*Renault Brilliance Jinbei (China), a joint venture between Renault and Brilliance Auto
Huachen Automotive Group Holdings Co. Ltd., known for its brand name Brilliance Auto Group, was a Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer holding company headquartered in Shenyang. Its products include automobiles, microvans, and automotiv ...
, established in 2017
*Renault do Brasil
Renault do Brasil (), formerly Renault do Brasil Automoveis, is the Brazilian subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault. It was established in 1997, and is Brazil's fifth largest automaker by sales. In 2012, Brazil was the second largest m ...
(Brazil)
*Renault España
Renault España Sociedad Anónima ( or ), also known by its acronym RESA (), is one of the largest manufacturing subsidiaries of Renault. The Spain-based company has facilities in Valladolid, Palencia and Sevilla, with most administrative offices ...
(Spain)
* Renault India (India)
* Renault Industrie Belgique S.A./Renault Industrie België N.V. (Belgium)
*Renault Med
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
(Morocco), a subsidiary operating the Renault-Nissan Alliance factory in Tangier
* Renault México (Mexico, cars manufactured in Nissan's Aguascalientes plant since 2013)
*Renault Pars
Renault Pars ( fa, رنو پارس, ''Renou Pars'', ) is an Iranian joint venture established in 2004 and owned by Renault and Iran's Industrial Development Renovation Organisation (IDRO) . The company is in charge of managing the assembly of CKD ...
(Iran), a joint venture established in 2004 and owned by Renault (51%) and Iran's Industrial Development Renovation Organisation (IDRO) (49%)
*Renault Russia
Renault Russia ( rus, Рено Россия, Reno Rossiya, rʲɪˈno rɐˈsʲijə), known until 2014 as Avtoframos ( rus, Автофрамос, Avtoframos), was a Russian automotive company established in 1998 by the Moscow city and Renault. It wa ...
(Russia)
*Renault South Africa
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
(South Africa, cars manufactured in the Nissan's Rosslyn plant)
*Revoz
Revoz () is a manufacturing subsidiary of Renault in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. It is the only automaker in the country and one of its largest exporters. The company was established in June 1988 as a joint venture between Renault and Industrija Motorn ...
(Slovenia)
* Sofasa (Colombia)
*Somaca
Somaca () is a Moroccan car manufacturer founded in 1959 by Fiat company Simca and currently owned by the French company Renault.
History
The company was founded in 1959 in by Moroccan government with technical assistance from Fiat S.p.A. and it ...
(Morocco)
Alliances
Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi
Renault has a 43.4% stake in Nissan, and Nissan holds a 15% stake (with no voting rights) in Renault, thereby giving it effective control. Renault has a 50% stake in the joint venture Renault-Nissan b.v., which was established to manage the Renault-Nissan alliance. The company is responsible for the management of two joint companies, RNPO (Renault Nissan Purchasing Organization) and RNIS (Renault-Nissan Information Services). Combined vehicle sales in 2008 reached 6.9 million (including AvtoVAZ), making the Renault-Nissan Alliance the world's third-largest automotive group.
As well as sharing engines and joint-development of zero-emissions technology, Nissan increased its presence in Europe by badging various Renault van models such as the Renault Kangoo
The Renault Kangoo is a family of multi purpose vehicles manufactured and marketed by Renault since 1997, in commercial as well as passenger variants, across three generations. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plan ...
/Nissan Kubistar
The Renault Kangoo is a family of multi purpose vehicles manufactured and marketed by Renault since 1997, in commercial as well as passenger variants, across three generations. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plan ...
, Renault Master
The Renault Master is a large van produced by the French manufacturer Renault since 1980, now in its third generation. It replaced the earlier Renault Super Goélette light trucks. Opel has sold versions of the second and third series vans as ...
/Nissan Interstar
The Renault Master is a large van produced by the French manufacturer Renault since 1980, now in its third generation. It replaced the earlier Renault Super Goélette light trucks. Opel has sold versions of the second and third series vans a ...
and the Renault Trafic
The Renault Trafic (pronounced as "traffic") is a light commercial van produced by the French automaker Renault since 1980. It is also marketed as the Fiat Talento, the Nissan NV300, the Nissan Primastar, the Mitsubishi Express and, until the ...
/Nissan Primastar
The Renault Trafic (pronounced as "traffic") is a light commercial van produced by the French automaker Renault since 1980. It is also marketed as the Fiat Talento, the Nissan NV300, the Nissan Primastar, the Mitsubishi Express and, until the ...
. Some passenger cars have also been badge-engineered, such as the Renault Clio-based Nissan Platina
Platina is a municipality ''(município)'' in the state of São Paulo in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and w ...
in Brazil. The "Renault Production System" standard used by all Renault factories borrowed extensively from the "Nissan Production Way" and resulted in Renault productivity improving by 15%. The alliance led to the loss of 21,000 jobs, and the closure of three assemby and two powertrain plants.
In March 2010 the Renault-Nissan alliance opened its first joint facility in Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, India, investing 45 billion rupees (US$991.1 million). The facility builds the Nissan Micra
The Nissan Micra, also known as the , is a supermini car ( B-segment) that has been produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan since 1982.
The Nissan Micra replaced the Japanese-market Nissan Cherry. It was exclusive to Nissan J ...
. The Renault Fluence and Renault Koleos
The Renault Koleos is a compact crossover SUV manufactured by the France, French manufacturer Renault. The majority of the production is coming from the Busan plant of Renault Samsung Motors. The first generation was marketed as the Renault Samsun ...
are intended to be assembled there from completely knocked-down units. As a result of opening its own factory, Renault ended its five-year Mahindra Renault
Mahindra Renault Limited was a joint venture between India's largest utility vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Limited & Renault, Renault S.A. of France (51% & 49% respectively). The joint venture was formed in 2007. On 15 April 2010 Mahi ...
joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (M&M) is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing corporation headquartered in Mumbai. It was established in 1945 as Mahindra & Mohammed and later renamed as Mahindra & Mahindra. Part of the Mahindra Group, ...
company to make and sell the Renault Logan
Logan may refer to:
Places
* Mount Logan (disambiguation)
Australia
* Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly
* Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud
* Logan City, local gover ...
in India.
=Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi and Daimler alliance
=
On 7 April 2010 Ghosn and Daimler AG
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
CEO Dieter Zetsche
Dieter Zetsche (; born on 5 May 1953) is a German engineer and business executive. He is the chairman of TUI AG. He was the chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz until 22 May 2019, a role he had held since 200 ...
announced a partnership between the three companies. Daimler acquired a 3.10 per cent stake in Renault-Nissan and Renault and Nissan each took a 1.55 per cent stake in Daimler.
American Motors
In 1979, Renault entered into an agreement with American Motors Corporation
American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...
(AMC) to sell cars in the US. A year later, Renault acquired a 22.5% interest in AMC. This was not the first time the two companies had worked together. In the early 1960s, Renault assembled CKD kits and marketed Ramblers in France. In 1982, Renault increased its stake in AMC to 46.4%. The Renault Alliance/Encore (a modified version of the Renault 9 and 11) entered production in the US, but following AMC's continued decline, Renault withdrew from the US in 1987 and sold its share to Chrysler.
Proposed alliances
On 30 June 2006, the media reported that General Motors convened an emergency board meeting to discuss a proposal by shareholder Kirk Kerkorian
Kerkor Kerkorian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գրիգորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverl ...
to form an alliance with Renault-Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
. However, GM CEO Richard Wagoner
George Richard "Rick" Wagoner Jr. (born February 9, 1953) is an American businessman and former chair and chief executive officer of General Motors. Wagoner resigned as chairman and CEO at General Motors on March 29, 2009, at the request of the W ...
felt that an alliance would disproportionately benefit Renault's shareholders and that GM should receive compensation accordingly. Talks between GM and Renault ended on 4 October 2006.
In 2007, Renault-Nissan entered talks with Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto
Bajaj Auto Limited () is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company based in Pune. It manufactures motorcycles, scooters and auto rickshaws. Bajaj Auto is a part of the Bajaj Group. It was founded by Jamnalal Bajaj (1889–1942) ...
to develop a new ultra-low-cost car along the lines of the Tata Nano
The Tata Nano is a compact city car that was manufactured and marketed by Indian automaker Tata Motors over a single generation, primarily in India, as an inexpensive rear-engined hatchback intended to appeal to current riders of motorcycles a ...
. Renault's existing partner in India, Mahindra, was not interested in the project. The proposed joint venture did not come to fruition and in late 2009 the companies announced that Bajaj would develop and manufacturer the vehicle and supply Renault-Nissan with completed cars.
On 7 October 2008 a Renault executive said the company was interested in acquiring or partnering with Chrysler. On 11 October 2008, the ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, Nissan and Renault had all been in discussions over the past month with Chrysler's owner Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
about acquiring Chrysler.
In May 2019, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) was an Italian-American multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, commercial vehicles, auto parts and production systems. The Italian holding company Exor was the largest ...
proposed merging its business with Renault. The proposal was later withdrawn.
Awards
Renault models have won the ''European Car of the Year
The European Car of the Year ("ECOTY") award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964, by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are ''Auto'' (Ita ...
'' award six times in the last forty years:
*1966: Renault 16
The Renault 16 (R16) is a D-segment family hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The Renault 16 was the first French winner of the European Car of the Year award.
Market placement
In the early 1 ...
*1982: Renault 9
The Renault 9 and Renault 11 are small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault for model years 1981–1988 in saloon (Renault 9) and hatchback (Renault 11) configurations — both were styled by the French automobile designer, Rob ...
*1991: Renault Clio
The Renault Clio () is a supermini car (B-segment), produced by French automobile manufacturer Renault. It was launched in 1990, and entered its fifth generation in 2019. The Clio has had substantial critical and commercial success, being consis ...
*1997: Renault Scénic
The Renault Scénic () is a car which was produced by French car manufacturer Renault, the first to be labelled as a small multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) in Europe. The first generation was based on the chassis of the Mégane, a small family car ...
*2003: Renault Mégane
The Renault Mégane () is a small family car produced by the French car manufacturer Renault for model year 1996, and was the successor to the Renault 19. The Mégane has been offered in three- and five-door hatchback, saloon, coupé, converti ...
II
*2006: Renault Clio III
Renault cars have won numerous national-level awards in Spain, Australia, Ireland, the United States, Denmark, and elsewhere. Renault and its Dacia subsidiary have won three "Autobest" car of the year awards for the Duster, Logan, and Symbol models.
Under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture ( it, Ministero della Cultura - MiC) is the ministry of the Government of Italy in charge of national museums and the ''monuments historiques''. MiC's headquarters are located in the historic Collegio Romano Palace (via ...
, in the 2016 edition of the Corporate Art Awards
The Corporate Art Awards are the international awards for the best art projects developed by the business world. They were launched in Rome (Italy) in 2016 by pptArt under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Culture and with the support of th ...
Renault received by pptArt
The Corporate Art Awards are the international awards for the best art projects developed by the business world. They were launched in Rome (Italy) in 2016 by pptArt under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Culture and with the support of th ...
the award for its Art Collection that inspired the creativity of its car designers.
Marketing and branding
Renault markets its products under five marques: Renault, Lada, Dacia, Renault Samsung Motors, and Alpine.
Renault badge
Renault's first badge was introduced in 1900 and consisted of the Renault brothers' intertwined initials. When the company started mass production in 1906, it adopted a gear-shaped logo with a car inside it. After World War I the company used a logo depicting an FT tank. In 1923 it introduced a new circle-shaped badge, which was replaced by the "diamond" or lozenge in 1925. The lozenge
Lozenge or losange may refer to:
* Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus
*Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments
*Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...
of Renault means a diamond that expresses the brand's firm desire to project a strong and consistent corporate image.
The Renault diamond logo has been through many iterations. To modernise its image, Renault asked Victor Vasarely
Victor Vasarely (; born Győző Vásárhelyi, ; 9 April 1906 – 15 March 1997) was a Hungarian-French artist, who is widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the Op art movement.
His work entitled ''Zebra'', created in 1937, is consi ...
to design its new logo in 1972. The transformed logo maintained the diamond shape. The design was later revised to reflect the more rounded lines of the brand's new styling cues. The current badge has been in use since 1992.
The logo for web and print use was updated three times thereafter. In 2002 a more realistic representation inside a yellow rectangle was made which is still used as the Renault Trucks
Renault Trucks is a French commercial truck manufacturer with corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it has been a subsidiary of the Volvo Group since 2001.
From its beginnings in 1978 to 2002, the comp ...
logo albeit in red. In 2004 the logo received the ''Renault Identité'' typeface. In 2007, Saguez & Partners produced a version with the wordmark and logo inside a square.
In April 2015, Renault introduced new designs to differentiate the company from the product brand, as part of the 'Passion for life' campaign. The new brand logo replaced the yellow background with a yellow stripe. A new typeface was also introduced. A corporate logo was unveiled at the 2015 Annual General Meeting, incorporating Renault, Dacia and Renault Samsung Motors.
January 2021 saw the introduction of a new flat diamond logo alongside the Renault 5 Prototype electric concept car. The logo received so much positive feedback that Renault officially introduced the new symbol as their logo in March 2021, according to Renault's design director Gilles Vidal
Gilles Vidal (born ca. 1972) is a French car designer, appointed Director of Style by Peugeot at the start of 2010. He was responsible for the design direction of the 2010's at Peugeot. He is currently the design director at Renault, having joine ...
, who joined the group in 2020. They plan to introduce the new diamond on many online platforms in June 2021 and the first model with the new logo featured will be revealed in 2022.
The yellow associated with the company appeared initially in the diamond badge of 1946, when Renault was nationalised.[
File:Renault Logo 1923.svg, Logo of Renault from 1923 to 1925
File:Renault Logo 1925.svg, Logo of Renault from 1925 to 1946
File:Renault Logo 1946.png, Logo of Renault from 1946 to 1959
File:Renault-Logo-1959.svg, Logo of Renault from 1959 to 1971
File:Renault 1967.png, Logo of Renault from 1971 to 1972 (This logo was not used because it is considered as a copy of the logo of the company Kent)
File:Renault Logo 1972.svg, Logo of Renault from 1972 to 1981 (Vasarely Logo)
File:Logo Renault 1981-1992.png, Logo of Renault from 1981 to 1992
File:Renault 1990.svg, Logo of Renault from 1992 to 2002
File:Renault logo.svg, alt=Créateur d'Automobiles, Logo of Renault from 2004 to 2007
File:Renault 2009 logo.svg, alt=Drive the Change, Logo of Renault from 2007 to 2015
File:Renault.jpg, alt=Passion for Life, Logo of Renault from 2015 to 2021 (still used as a badge)
File:Renault 2021 Text.svg, alt=Renault logo with text, Logo of Renault since 2021
File:Groupe renault smal.svg, alt=Groupe Renault Logo, Groupe Renault logo up to 2021 (as distinct from the Renault diamond used for the brand)
File:2021 Renault Group logo.svg, Renault Group logo from 2021 onwards
]
Typeface
Renault MN
Both the Renault logo and its documentation (technical as well as commercial) historically used ''Renault MN,'' a custom typeface
A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font.
There are list of type ...
developed by British firm Wolff Olins
Wolff Olins is a British advertising agency and corporate identity consultancy. It was started in 1965 and has offices in London, New York City and San Francisco. It now employs some 150 designers, strategists, technologists, programme managers ...
. This type of family is said to have been designed mainly to save costs at a time where the use of typefaces was costly.
A retail version of the font family was sold by URW++ as Renault.
Renault Identité
In 2004, French typeface designer Jean-François Porchez was commissioned to design a replacement. This was shown in October of that year and was called ''Renault Identité''. The OpenType font family was developed from the Renault logotype created by Éric de Berranger.
Helvetica
Since 2007, as part of the Saguez & Partners revamp, all graphic advertising makes use of Helvetica Neue
Helvetica (originally Neue Haas Grotesk) is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann.
Helvetica is a neo-grotesque design, one influenced by the famous 19th century (1890s) ...
Condensed.
Renault Life
The Renault Life font family was built by Fontsmith Limited, based on the foundry's FS Hackney font family.
The family consists of six fonts in three weights (Life, Regular, and Bold) and one width, with complimentary italic.
L'Atelier Renault Paris
Renault's flagship showroom, L'Atelier Renault (), is located on the Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is lo ...
in Paris, with other manufacturers such as Peugeot, Citroën and Toyota. It opened in November 2000, located on the site of Pub Renault, which operated from 1963 until 1999. The first Renault venue at the location was the ''Magasin Renault'' in 1910, a pioneering car showroom.
L'Atelier features a Renault Boutique as well as regular exhibitions featuring Renault and Dacia cars. An upmarket restaurant is located on the second floor, looking out onto the Champs-Élysées. The ground floor can hold up to five exhibitions at any one time. As of March 2009, 20 million visitors had visited L'Atelier Renault.
Renault Classic
Renault Classic is a department within Renault that seeks to collect, preserve and exhibit notable vehicles from the company's history. Originally named Histoire & Collection, the collection was assembled in 2002 and its workshops formally opened on 24 April 2003.
Music
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Renault's European advertising made extensive use of Robert Palmer's song "Johnny and Mary
"Johnny and Mary" is a song written and originally performed by Robert Palmer. Palmer's version was recorded in 1980 at Compass Point Studios, New Providence, in the Bahamas. The song was featured on Palmer's album '' Clues'' (1980).
"Johnny a ...
". Television advertisements initially used Palmer's original version, while a range of special recordings in different styles were produced during the 1990s, most famously the acoustic interpretation by Martin Taylor that he released on his album ''Spirit of Django''.
Sponsorship
Renault has sponsored films as an advertising technique since 1899. A Renault Voiturette Type A, driven by Louis Renault, appeared in one of the Lumières
The Lumières (literally in English: ''The Lights'') was a cultural, philosophical, literary and intellectual movement beginning in the second half of the 17th century, originating in western Europe and spreading throughout the rest of Europe. It ...
' early films. Between 1914 and 1940, the company commissioned a series of documentary films to promote its industrial activities. Renault also backed some films set in Africa during the 1920s to promote the reliability of its products on tough conditions.[ Since 1983, the company sponsors the ]Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
and it has also sponsored other festivals as the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
, the Marrakech Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...
.
Through its foundations and institutes, Renault funds projects around the world that focus on: education through scholarships, road safety and diversity.
See also
*Tanks in France
French development into tanks began during World War I as an effort to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare, and largely at the initiative of the manufacturers. The Schneider CA1 was the first tank produced by France, and 400 units were built. ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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Car brands
Companies listed on Euronext Paris
Conglomerate companies of France
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