The original PR100 was developed and manufactured by Berliet using mainly plans of the German "VÖV-Standard-Linienbus" of the late 1960s with an altered front-end and back.

This new model was called the PR100.2 and can be identified by the revised front bumper arrangement incorporating the lights with an asymmetrical windscreen, arched top and a separately mounted destination display in the new front end.

The design was used by Jelcz in Poland under license, and large numbers were delivered to many Polish cities.

The PR100.2 chassis was also assembled in Spain, with Hispano Carrocera bodywork but retaining the Renault front for early models.

The PR100 was launched in the United Kingdom in 1988 with bodywork by Northern Counties of Wigan, marketed as a competitor to the Leyland Lynx integral single-deck.

The PR180 was a tri-axle articulated version of the PR100 and was referred to in marketing literature as the Megabus.

Berliet and Renault built the ER100 and PER180 for several French cities including Grenoble, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy and Saint-Étienne.