From F1 racing cars to funny looking boxy cars with gear change levers that came out through the dashboard, Renault has been through them all. Without doubt one of the French successes as far as motor cars are concerned Renault has produced some ground breaking models, cars which gave working French people motor transport. The brothers Renault led by Louis started the company in 1898 and joined in the growing sport of motor racing. By 1905 mass production of cars was introduced and the company enjoyed success through the First World War, but in common with many other suffered during the years of depression prior to 1939. During the Second World War, Louis appeared to collaborate with the German occupiers and this resulted after the conflict ended in 1945 with the French government nationalising the company, although it was during this occupation that Louis secretly developed the famous 4CV the French answer to the German Beetle.
Renault continued to produce some ground breaking cars and although they were successful both with buyers and on the race tracks, they were losing the government owned company millions of Francs a month. The company was completely revitalised and by 1987 Renault was just about breaking even. This led to a number of successful cars being launched including the Clio which was a replacement for the very popular Renault 5. Eventually after a period of stability and growth the company was privatised and an alliance was formed with Nissan which was to benefit both companies.
Today Renault produces a complete range of cars to suit the whole market ranging from the Twingo a city car to the Espace, which as its name suggest is a spacious 7 seat MPV. The Twingo is Renaults answer to the Fiat Panda and is a mini MPV along with the Clio and Modus models which are complimentary to it. The Clio is a success story with over 13 million being built ranking in the top ten cars sought by used car buyers. The Laguna is a car in the top bracket and it is in a section of the market which the Mondeo has dominated but now has a real competitor with good looking this French car. The Megane sits in the mid sector and Renault have duly obliged with a variety of options that a buyer can choose from. These include a coupe, a hatchback, spot tourer, and the much loved Megane coupe cabriolet. The Scenic is an excellent family hatchback which clearly showed buyers that Renault had built something motor that combined all the best qualities of a hatchback, estate and MPV.
The Renault mission statement declares that “In a highly competitive environment, we take pride in offering an extensive range of desirable, safe and distinctive cars and vans with support services designed to develop long-standing relationships with our customers. We set ourselves challenging objectives and strive to achieve the highest levels of quality across every area of our business, whilst maximising opportunities brought about by our Alliance with Nissan.”