Renault began as a textile company, but the eldest son, Louis – who did not wish to follow in his father’s footsteps – manufactured and sold his first vehicle in late 1898; from there, he founded the Société Renault Frères, drawing on the expertise of his brothers Marcel and Fernand. In 1900, he unveiled the brand’s first vehicle, a small car capable of carrying 250 kg; by 1903, they were producing lorries with one or two cylinders and 8 or 10 cv. Although they still had open cabs and carbide lighting, they could carry loads of up to 1.5 tonnes.
Unfortunately, Marcel died of an illness in 1903, and Fernand withdrew from the partnership in 1908, leaving the company in Louis’s hands. In 1905, the brand was selected to design a vehicle fitted with taximeters for Paris; an initial order for 250 vehicles was placed, which led to rapid growth. Louis applied the principles of Henry Ford (namely, assembly line production).
The first four-wheel-drive truck with a forward-mounted cab was built in 1911; when the First World War broke out, Renault manufactured lorries, tanks and auxiliary equipment. After the war, military lorries that were no longer needed were sold off at rock-bottom prices, putting Renault in a difficult position against its main competitor, Berliet; it would subsequently face the crisis of 1929 resulting from the “crash”. During the Second World War, France was forced to work for the German army and the Vichy government; after the war, following the liberation from Nazi occupation, Louis was accused of collaboration. He was arrested and imprisoned, but died as a result of the ill-treatment he suffered before his trial could take place. Renault was nationalised and all its patents were expropriated.
In 1978, Berliet merged with Saviem to form Renault Commercial Vehicles.
In 1990, Renault acquired Mack and became a public limited company. Two years later, it was renamed Renault V.I. and was privatised in 1993. In 2001, it was fully acquired by Volvo, which renamed it Renault Trucks. In 2010, Volvo was bought by the Chinese company Geely Automobile.
Remember that at Vallor Trucks you’ll find the lorry you’re looking for; we have a wide range in stock:
