In 1898, Louis Renault took up a challenge to drive his A-type Voiturette up the steep Rue Lepic in Montmartre, Paris and won his first 12 orders, so starting a major car manufacturer. The four-wheeled vehicle incorporated one of his inventions: the first gearbox. He filed the patent for the direct drive system and so made his fortune.
His two brothers, Marcel and Fernand, set up the Renault Brothers company in 1899 and left Louis to concentrate on design and production. To publicise their cars, the Renault brothers let people see them in action -- by racing them. Starting with the Paris-Trouville event in 1899, they achieved win after win in most of the city-to-city races. This was successful until Marcel died while driving in the Paris-Madrid race.
After the recession of the 20s, Louis Renault reorganised his business. Ford had bought a railway; now Renault bought forests, sawmills, steel mills, quarries, and foundries...in fact anything that he needed to keep his production line supplied.
During the war, Louis Renault used his facilities to manufactured for Nazi Germany. This didn't go down well with the French people and he was arrested at the end of the War and died in prison awaiting trial. The war had left the country in a sorry state, with the economy dire straits and industrial relations hitting rock bottom.
In 1945, the government decided to nationalise Renault and although it was intended that the company produce trucks, Pierre Lefaucheux, the new chairman put in charge of the venture, managed to convince the authorities to allow him to produce cars. As in other European countries, the emphasis had to be on cost and economy, which lead to the 4CV being born, a small, rear engined, car that ticked all these boxes. Expectations were surpassed and the 4CV became the instrument of the company's turnaround.
But those heading the new Renault wanted more...they wanted the company to be exemplary in every way. And Renault indeed became the example of social progress. However, things didn't go the company's way all the time. One CEO was assassinated because of his success at turning the company's fortunes around and a proposed alliance with Volvo was ruined at the last minute.
The company was eventually re-privatised and this has allowed the it to venture once again into Eastern Europe and South America, including a new factory in Brazil and upgrades for the infrastructure in Argentina and Turkey.
Renault has since fostered a reputation for distinctive, outlandish design and car safety.
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Check Renault insurance groups - select a model to start
Whether you currently own a Renault or you are considering buying a model from
the Renault range, it helps if you understand insurance groups and how they affect
your premium.
Insurance group ratings take into account performance, security, damage and parts costs, new
car values, availability of body shells and repair costs and times. What you'll typically
find is that cars in lower insurance groups attract a lower premium, whilst cars in higher
insurance groups attract a higher premium - usually because they are high performance models
or have high repair or replacement costs. Just choose a model to check its insurance group ratings.