Louis Renault was born into a
typically bourgeois Parisian family in February 1877. The youngest of
five children, he had two sisters and two brothers. His father, Alfred,
a conscientious businessman, had built up a comfortable fortune through
the sale of fabrics and buttons. His mother, Louise, the daughter of
well-to-do shopkeepers, enjoyed entertaining and the arts. Louis was a
pampered child. At an early age he developed an enthusiasm for all
things mechanical, including engines and electricity — everything that
surfaced during that era was overflowing with technical progress. The
Renault family had a second home in Billancourt, very near to Paris,
and it was in a garden shed there that the young Louis set up his first
workshop. Studies were not his strong point and he was more than
content to pass his baccalauréat. But the quiet teenager had two vital
assets for getting on in life: he was both intuitive and practical.
At the age of 20, he made a brilliant entrance into the emerging world
of the motor car. He converted his De Dion-Bouton tricycle into a
small, four-wheeled vehicle and added another of his inventions that
would soon propel the motor car into a new era: the 'direct drive', the
first gearbox. It instantly dethroned the transmission chains and cogs
that had been used until then.
On December 24, 1898 Louis was
spending Christmas Eve with some friends. Confident about his
invention, he bet them that his vehicle could climb the 13% slope of
the Rue Lepic in Montmartre. Although they were incredulous at first,
his friends were soon forced to believe their eyes. Not only did Louis
win his bet - he also pocketed his first 12 firm orders, along with
cash deposits. His career was under way. A few months later he filed
the patent for the direct drive system that would make his fortune. It
was soon adopted by all the manufacturers of the time.
His two brothers, Marcel and
Fernand, who ran the family business prudently, set up the Renault
Brothers company in 1899 - with a small amount of capital and without
including their talented sibling. They left Louis the ownership of his
patent and paid him a good salary on condition that he show results. In
fact, Marcel and Fernand were dubious that the sideline had much
future... But Louis was very soon to prove them wrong.
It was
through racing that Renault Brothers became known, with Louis and
Marcel at the wheels of their vehicles. Starting with the
Paris-Trouville event in 1899, they chalked up win after win in most of
the city-to-city races, including Paris-Bordeaux, Paris-Ostend,
Paris-Berlin and, most important, a magnificent Paris-Vienna won by
Marcel in 1902.
Those victories were the most
effective form of advertising and direct marketing that the brothers
could have wished for. An admiring public made their order books fatter
with every race. The cars were sold for 3,000 francs - the
equivalent of ten year's average salary at the time. The company
expanded rapidly and the workshops by the Seine were forced to expand
with it. By 1902 they covered 7,500 square metres. The Renault
catalogue included several models, including the first saloon car on
the market. In the same year Louis introduced the first Renault engine,
with four cylinders and horse-power of 24. Soon after he patented the
first turbo.
By 1975, Renault had become an
industrial group made up of the original carmaker company RNUR along
with various subsidiaries giving a diversified business outlook. The
total group workforce numbered 222,500, including around 104,000 at
RNUR. Immigrant workers accounted for over 21% of the personnel.
In 1975, Renault plants made 1.3 million passenger cars, including over
400,000 in European countries other than France (Spain, Belgium and
Romania) and 130,000 outside Europe (Turkey, Australia, South Africa,
Argentina, Colombia, Iran, etc.). The group also made 99,000 industrial
vehicles, around 60,000 Saviem-Berliet trucks, 14,000 tractors and
112,500 special vehicles.
As of 2004, Renault was the fifth most popular car maker in the United Kingdom behind the Ford Motor Company, Vauxhall Motors, Peugeot and Volkswagen. The most popular French car in the UK is currently the Renault Clio, which has been a strong seller throughout Europe since its launch 14 years ago.
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