1. History The brand Renault was created in 1898 by three French brothers: Louis, Marcel and Fernand Renault. The first Renault car, the Renault Voiturette 1CV was sold to a friend of Louis' father after giving him a test ride on December, the 24th 1898. His friend was so impressed by this tiny car, how it ran and how it climbed the streets that he bought it.
The brand became rapidly known thanks to automobile racings. In fact, their cars were high performance and won competitions.
Renault is born.

Renault factories chose mass production and during the First World War, the company contributed by manufacturing trucks and ambulances.

During the eighties, Renault knew a good growth thanks to an extension of its range and its entrance in the automobile racing “Formule 1”.

During the nineties, the company continued to innovate and to renew its range with Megane or Laguna. Its reputation was strengthened by its success in Formule 1.
Also, with the buyout of Dacia and Samsung Motors, Renault accelerated its internationalization.
Moreover, in 1999, the company got into in Nissan’s capital.

Since 2005, the new chief executive Carlos Ghosn has new plan for the company. He wants to become the most profitable European group.
The group chose to position on emerging markets and since 2008, has given priority to the launching of electrical vehicles.

Renault’s market shares:

Some figures:

Renault’s headquarters are in Boulogne-Billancourt in France and employ 121 422 people.
The company recorded a turnover of 33,718 Million during the financial year (2009), a decrease of 10% compared to the financial 2008.
In 2008, Renault sold 2,382,243 vehicles and in 2009, 2,309,188 vehicles were sold all over the world. That represents an increase of 4% comparing to 2008. This is less than the global increase regarding the automobile world market.

Sales repartition in 2008 Brands | 2008 | Renault | 2019274 | Dacia |