[9][11] Louis was a bright, aspiring young engineer who had already designed and built several prototypes before teaming up with his brothers, who had honed their business skills working for their father's textile firm.

[29] Renault struggled to compete with the increasingly popular small, affordable "people's cars," while problems with the United States stock market and the workforce slowed the company's growth.

The pre-First World War cars had a distinctive front shape caused by positioning the radiator behind the engine to give a so-called "coal scuttle" bonnet.

Lighter weight factory steel bodies powered by a 3,180 cubic centimetre (cc) six-cylinder motor provided a formula that lasted until the Second World War.

The 1927 six-cylinder Grand Renault models NM, PI and PZ introduced the new three spring rear suspension that considerably aided stability that was needed since some vehicles surpassed 90 mph (140 km/h).

On 3 March 1942, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) launched 235 low-level bombers at the Île Seguin, Billancourt, Paris plant, the largest number aimed at a single target during the war.

The political jostling and violence that followed liberation ostensibly reflected the rivalries between capitalist collaboration and communist resistance; many of the scores settled predated the invasion.

[40] A week later, on 4 October, Pierre Lefaucheux, a resistance leader with a background in engineering and top-level management, was appointed provisional administrator of the firm, assuming his responsibilities at once.

After the success of the 4CV, Lefacheux continued to defy the postwar French Ministry of Industrial Production, which had wanted to convert Renault solely to truck manufacture,[47] by directing the development of its successor.

During the 1950s, Renault absorbed two small French heavy vehicle manufacturers (Somua and Latil) and in 1955 merged them with its own truck and bus division to form the Société Anonyme de Véhicules Industriels et d'Equipements Mécaniques (Saviem).

The 1960s had been a decade of aggressive growth: a few months earlier, in October 1969, the manufacturer had launched the Renault 12, combining the engineering philosophy of its hatchbacks with the more conservative "three-box" design.

Despite the Dauphine's success in the United States in the late 1950s and an unsuccessful assembly project in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec (1964–72), Renault began to disappear from North America at the end of the decade.

This led to the improvement of the venerable AMC inline six – a Renault/Bendix-based port electronic fuel injection system (usually called Renix) transformed it into a modern, competitive powerplant with a jump from 110 to 177 hp (82 to 132 kW) with less displacement (from 4.2 to 4.0 litres).

The Premier design, as well as its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bramalea, Ontario, Canada, were the starting point for the sleek LH sedans such as the Eagle Vision and Chrysler 300M.

The government intervened and Georges Besse was installed as chairman; he set about cutting costs dramatically, selling many of Renault's non-core assets (Volvo stake, Gitane, Eurocar, and Renix), withdrawing almost entirely from motorsports, and laying off many employees.

[28] This new freedom allowed the company to venture once again into markets in Eastern Europe and South America, including a new factory in Brazil and upgrades for its infrastructure in Argentina and Turkey.

Ghosn elaborated a plan to cut costs for the period 1998–2000, reducing the workforce, revising production processes, standardising vehicle parts and pushing the launch of new models.

As well as its distinctive styling, Renault was to become known for its car safety by the independent company Euro NCAP[79] Thus, in 2001, the Laguna achieved a five-star rating,[79] followed in 2004 by the Modus,[80] and acquired control of AvtoVAZ in 2008.

[98] In April 2015, the French government upped their stake in Renault from 15% to 19.73% with the aim of blocking a resolution at the next annual general meeting that could reduce its control over the company.

Independent tests carried out by the German car club ADAC proved that, under normal driving conditions, diesel vehicles, including the Renault Espace, exceeded legal European emission limits for nitrogen oxide (NOx) by more than 10 times.

[120] It also plans to spin off its powertrain production and development operations (including internal combustion engines and hybrid systems) into a joint venture company named Horse with Geely as co-owner.

[184] Beginning in 2008, Renault made agreements for its planned zero-emissions products, including with Israel, Portugal, Denmark and the US states of Tennessee and Oregon,[185] Yokohama in Japan and the Principality of Monaco.

[194] Renault–Nissan also signed deals with Ireland's Electricity Supply Board (ESB),[195] and in Milton Keynes as part of the UK's Plugged in Places national project.

[196] We have decided to introduce zero-emission vehicles as quickly as possible in order to ensure individual mobility against the background of high oil prices and better environmental protectionAccording to Ghosn, the Renault–Nissan alliance was a fundamental step in electric car development, and that they needed each other for other issues such as battery manufacturing, charging infrastructure and business strategy.

The chairman of Judges, George Emmerson, commented, "This was the most hotly contested category in the history of the Fleet World Honours, such is the clamour for organizations' green credentials to be recognised.

[235] Renault Retail Group operates in France, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

[259][260] In May 2024, Renault and Geely established a joint venture holding aimed at producing powertrains, including internal combustion engines (ICE) and hybrid systems.

[269] On 30 June 2006, the media reported that General Motors convened an emergency board meeting to discuss a proposal by shareholder Kirk Kerkorian to form an alliance with Renault-Nissan.

The proposed joint venture did not come to fruition and in late 2009 the companies announced that Bajaj would develop and manufacturer the vehicle and supply Renault-Nissan with completed cars.

[309] Television advertisements initially used Palmer's original version, while a range of special recordings in different styles were produced during the 1990s, most famously the acoustic interpretation by Martin Taylor that he released on his album Spirit of Django.