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I. THE LOUIS RENAULT ERA 1898-1944

A dynamic start 1898-1914
Louis Renault was born in Paris on February 12, 1877. His father Alfred had left Saumur to open a
dry-goods business in Paris, manufacturing fabric and buttons, in 1859. In 1861, at the age of 33,
Alfred took a bride, 19-year-old Berthe Magnien – discreet, pious, and musically inclined. Between
1863 and 1877, the couple had five children. They enjoyed a comfortable existence in two family
homes: the apartment building acquired in 1869 on Place de Laborde in the Saint-Augustin
neighborhood, and at the estate Alfred was assembling step by step on land he had purchased in
1868 in Billancourt, a small town on the southwestern outskirts of Paris.
Alfred intended to make his sons partners in his business, which was
thriving thanks to his total commitment and rigorous management.
However, the two eldest died shortly after reaching adulthood. Louis, the
youngest, although not especially gifted with social skills and positively
repelled by supervision at school, displayed a great curiosity and real
inventive genius as a mechanic. In 1892, shortly before their father’s
death, Louis’s brother Fernand, aged 28, went into the family business as
a partner, and Marcel soon joined him.
Young Louis had converted the garden shed of the family estate in
Billancourt into a fully appointed machine shop. Following preparatory
studies at Ecole Monge, Louis failed the entrance exam for the elite
national engineering school, Ecole Centrale. He seized the opportunity to
Figure 1: Louis Renault (top indulge in his passion for
right) and a few classmates machines. In the autumn of
1898, upon his return from
military service, he built his first
little car, equipped with an original “direct drive”
transmission system. The system of chains and belts that
earlier builders had used to transfer energy to the wheels
was replaced by a gearbox and differential, directly linked
to the rear axle by a
crankshaft and two
universal joints.
It was an
elegant
solution,
typical of
Louis
Renault.
He Figure 2 - Louis Renault in the Billancourt
garage
assembled existing parts, the gearbox, joints, and
differential, into a comparatively simple, light
Figure 3 – The first Voiturette (1898)
transmission system, far superior in power and
reliability to all that had preceded it. Despite the modest 1¾ hp De Dion engine mounted on the
conveyance, Louis Renault’s Voiturette was capable of amazing feats.
On December 24, 1898, at a Christmas party in Montmartre, Louis demonstrated the advantages of
this motorcar by driving up steep Rue Lepic. The vehicle performed so convincingly that his friends
immediately pledged funds to the venture, placing orders for twelve copies of the Voiturette.
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At that point, on February 25, 1899, the

“Renault Frères” partnership was
founded, stretching back retroactively to
October 1, 1898, with 60,000 francs
capital, for a period of ten years,
between Fernand and Marcel Renault.
The small financial base and the short-
term commitment attest to the elder
brothers’ limited confidence. As a simple
employee, Louis was nevertheless the
driving force behind the enterprise.
Fernand and Marcel soon realized it
would be an error to sell off the startup
immediately, as planned. On the
Figure 4 – Beside the Seine in Boulogne, Fernand and Marcel contrary, they sold their father’s
Renault on the De Dion quadricycle, which donated its organs business. In order to improve the
to the first Voiturette. Louis is at the wheel of the prototype.
conditions for manufacturing the
vehicles, they expanded the operation from the garden shed to a boat shelter they’d salvaged on Ile
Seguin and moved to a plot of land alongside the family estate.

The patent that paid off

On February 9, 1899,
Louis filed for a patent
on his direct-drive
mechanism, just as he
had for a steam power
generator. It was called
“Gear-changing and
transmission mechanism
for automobile
vehicles.” It was a wise
move on his part,
because the idea was
quickly copied by other
builders, attracted by its
obvious superiority.
The Renault brothers
sued one of the most
vulnerable plagiarists,
Mr. Corre. On appeal,
the court ruled in late
1905 that builders using
the device owed
royalties to Louis
Renault (who set them
at 1% of the price of the
frame). By the time the
patent fell into the
public domain on
February 9, 1914, 120 car builders had paid over 3.5 million francs to Louis, about 1% of the
company’s total turnover. Louis Renault continued to file a number of patents under his own name
(174, by 1939).
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To attract new customers, the three brothers

set out to make themselves known. The first
thing they did was to exhibit a Voiturette at the
second Paris auto show, in June 1899, on the
esplanade of the Tuileries. However, although
the car was a bargain – 3,500 F – it went
unnoticed.
A journalist then suggested that the young
company enter races. The first competition,
held on August 27, 1899, went from Paris to
Trouville, on the Normandy Coast. The Renault
brothers Louis and Marcel won their first victory
in their category, and publicized their Figure 6 – The first Renault advertisement, published in
achievement immediately. A series of successes La Nature, September 9, 1899
ensued, in intercity races. The young racers almost always placed first and second in their category.
This was due to two factors: the efficiency and
reliability of their mechanism, and also their
boundless audacity.
By the end of 1899, 71 Voiturettes had been built.

Figure 7 - Louis Renault on his Type A Voiturette at

the start of the Paris-Trouville Race.

At that point, Renault Freres had 60 people on

Figure 8 – At full speed on the Northern Circuit in 1902.
the payroll, was reporting annual sales totaling
Note the vehicle’s aerodynamic shape.
over 100,000 F and profits exceeding 36%.
In 1901, Louis won the Paris-Berlin race. Renault now had 400 employees. The brothers founded a
company insurance fund, the “Société de Secours Renault Frères.” Part of the personnel joined.

Figure 9 – 1902 Type G mono-cylinder

Figure 10 –1903 Type M mono-cylinder
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Until 1902, Renault Voiturettes were fitted with one-cylinder engines purchased from a
subcontractor. But that year, Renault invested in building its own two- and four-cylinder engines,
assisted by engineer Paul Viet, hired away from De Dion.
As attested by the frequent changes in model-type names, the range expanded and improved. By
this time, six different models of “light vehicles” were offered to Renault customers. They featured
the same qualities – efficiency, reliability, relative lightness – that made the Voiturette popular.
At the wheel of a 4-cylinder, Marcel won the Paris-
Vienna race on June 29, 1902, against
competitors driving more powerful cars. But
those automobiles tended to break down, and
their greater weight was a handicap when going
through mountain passes. This victory was an
unprecedented success for Renault Frères, and the
number of orders increased tenfold.
Unfortunately, on May 26, 1903, the dashing
Marcel Renault lost control of his Renault when
overtaking a rival in the Paris-Madrid race. That
accident, just north of Bordeaux, was fatal to him.
The tragedy marked the end of intercity races, and
convinced Louis Renault to give up motor sports.
It left Louisalone at the helm with his brother and
partner Fernand, sharing the capital of the
company which had risen to 773 000 francs. At
Figure 11 - Marcel Renault’s victorious arrival at the this point, Louis ceased being an employee,
Prater in Vienna. becoming instead the ubiquitous boss of
Billancourt.

Figure 12 - Marcel at the start of the Paris-Madrid Figure 13 – After the accident at Couhé-Vérac

In 1904, the company confronted the mixed blessing of an overflowing order book. The magneto
ignition was added, as well as a new engine-cooling system with the radiator in the rear, facilitating
access to the motor. This design would last until the late 1920s, giving the Renault cars a
characteristic profile.
1905 was a pivotal year. By then, the shop at Billancourt covered 236,000 square feet and employed
800 workers. Renault won a call for bids from La Compagnie Française des Automobiles de Place, a
subsidiary of Banque Mirabaud, aimed at replacing horse-drawn carriages with automobiles. The
contract specified an order for cars that were “perfect in every way [… possessing] certain qualities
which are not indispensable in every car, because they are called upon to satisfy both the
requirements of the public and, at the same time, the no less imperious demands of the shareholders
[…] These cars are supposed to be comfortable, elegant, and clean. Especially, they should break
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down as little as possible. No noise, and especially, no smoke […] Finally, the taxi must be
moderately priced and consume little gasoline and oil.” The type AG, of the utmost simplicity with its
twin-cylinder 8 CV engine, met these
requirements perfectly. When it
underwent comparative trials, it proved
to be easy to drive and maintain,
reliable, and ideally adapted to
passenger transportation. This triumph
in one of the rare markets where the
automobile immediately prevailed was
followed by similar successes in
London and New York City. It won
Renault large, recurring orders – which
attained 3,000 cars per year and 2/3 of
Figure 14 – The AG taxi
the market. As a result, Renault became
the leading French automaker. A few
years before Ford, the company was able to develop a real mass production manufacturing process).
However, Louis Renault was careful not to push it to single-model, large series Fordism, with its high
salaries. For half a century, Renault remained in a privileged position in this market.
Louis Renault did not forget his own comfort. He had already acquired two Paris townhouses. In
1906, sailing down the Seine aboard his yacht, the Chrysélis, he spotted an estate at Herqueville,
near Les Andelys. He bought it, and extended it to 4,250 acres. It became a country retreat where he
invited staff members and celebrities, artists, businessmen, and politicians, to hunt, but also to work.
In 1913, he built another townhouse and an investment property in Paris, at numbers 88 and 90 of
the fancy Avenue du Bois (later Avenue Foch).
Renault returned to automobile racing in
1905 on the track in Auvergne with a car
that had spectacular characteristics –
13 litres, 90 hp. The former mechanics
had become drivers, but they did not
attain the hoped-for success. However,
the following year, the team achieved
victory at the first ACF Grand Prix de la
Sarthe. Driver François Szisz crossed the
finish line well ahead of the pack after a
Figure 15 – The 90 CV at the 1906 Sarthe Grand Prix race 769-mile closed-circuit race (1,238 km).
The triumph reinforced Renault’s
reputation for reliability. Michelin also took part in this success, having contributed the
demountable rims which equipped the car.
5 dealerships opened in France in 1905, a budding sales network freeing the company
from direct sales. Six foreign subsidiaries appeared: “Renault Frères Ltd.” in London
(1905); “Renault Selling Branch” in the US (1906);
“Renault Automobil AG” in Germany (1907); the
“Société Espagnole des Automobiles Renault” (1909);
a Hungarian subsidiary (1913); and the “Société des
Automobiles Renault pour la Russie” followed by
Russky Renault (1914). The Russian subsidiary built
two plants of its own by 1916. For Renault,
internationalization is hardly a recent concept!
Renault’s flourishing business was not limited to the
passenger car. In addition to taxi cabs, it took an Figure 16 – In Saint-Petersburg, the imperial Russian Renault
interest in all types of combustion-engine power: fleet.
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trucks, vans, road-maintenance vehicles,

ambulances, fire engines, electrical
generators, etc. Renault usually rose to
become one of the major suppliers in every
sector. However, it suffered a temporary
setback on the bus market, when it failed to
win the contract for the City of Paris.
Starting with a 50hp V8 engine, Renault
made a debut on the emerging aircraft
engine market. The products possessed
indispensable reliability and solutions which
lightened the engine, like air-cooling. Their
favorable weight/power ratio was Figure 17 – 1909 Bus prototype
associated with the first feats of French
aviation, like the crossing of the Pyrenees in 1910 or the landing on the summit of the Puy-de-Dôme
in 1911.
Meanwhile, the range of touring cars continued to grow. By 1908, 10 models were offered, when
two new vehicles appeared at either end of the spectrum: the AR, a
55-hp luxury product, and the AX, a no-frills
“Voiturette.”
The AR, designed with a new clientele in mind,
was first advertised with this commentary: “The
perfections we have applied to all of our new
models were designed with meticulous care. We
Figure 18 – 1908 55 CV Model AR hope this fact will dispel any apprehension our
customers may have about the new features we
are presenting.” As for the engine: “We devoted so much time to engineering this engine that we
have created a model combining exceptional smoothness and flexibility, the result of its design itself,
with the simplicity and easy maintenance featured by our other types.”
The AX was a return to the sources, in a way: its presentation brochure described it as “a utility
vehicle,1 with a low purchase price and minimal maintenance expenses […] we applied ourselves to
seeking overall simplification of all the parts,
making them from strong, sturdy materials
that wear well. We have not sacrificed
lightness to strength and durability, so the AX
runs on a fuel-saving, low-power engine.”
Initially offered as an open car with two
bucket seats and a trunk, the AX body was
later modified to accommodate a convertible
roof. As one of the first cars to offer indoor
drive, it was a forerunner. With a chassis
strong enough to carry a load of up to 700
pounds, it foreshadowed the utility vans that
would come later. The AX was the best-selling
Renault model prior to World War One. It
owes its success in the developing market to
its simplicity, reliability, and easy Figure 19 – The 1909 AX
manufacture.

1 In the practical, economical sense.

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The 35 CV, featuring a 4-cylinder 35 hp

engine, with a displacement of 8.5 liters,
rounded out the range in 1911.
Louis Renault was continually introducing
eminently practical technical innovations:
a compressed-air and mechanical starter
system, new carburetor designs,
automatic lubrication, monobloc engines,
etc. To alleviate a shortage in the supply
of electrical components, he formed a
Figure 20 – The 1911 35 CV on a CF body
partnership with certain competitors to
create the SEV.

Renault’s diversification strategy

Product diversification was obtained by extremely economical means: the same solutions, and
sometimes even the same elements, were implemented to diversify bodies and engines,
respectively. Because body and engine adopted the same open architecture, they could be modified
at little expense. Innovations on each usually derived from modularity or uniform scaling. Louis
Renault concentrated on these elements, the design and manufacture of which could be
rationalized best, leaving the fabrication of various bodies up to specialists. Unlike Henry Ford, and
despite his experience with the taxis, Louis Renault never embraced the single-model strategy. Why
was this so? On the one hand, customs regulations practically limited him to France, and he felt that
a monoculture would not sell well enough on the French market alone. A single model would also
rigidify the production means, and the problems of renewal would be hard to solve. Moreover, an
extensive product range opened broader horizons for his skills as a creator. It provided him with
outlets that, although limited, were profitable if he managed to prevail (as was the case with the
taxis). Diversification helped develop reactivity and flexibility to cope with misfortune. Novelties
could gradually be introduced. By reducing risks and increasing the opportunities for profit,
diversification was ideally part of Louis Renault’s strategy of cautious audacity.
The company’s name changed yet once more, becoming “La Société des Automobiles Renault” after
Fernand’s retirement. In declining health, in October 1908, after selling off the still-prosperous family
textile business, he made a deal with Louis to relinquish his shares of the company in exchange for
compensation. He died the following year.
At the company, the restraint Alfred Renault had taught to his sons was practiced on every level.
Rule One was never to borrow. Two: a large part of the profits were reinvested. Three: Stock and
product flows were managed closely. Components as much standardized as possible. Cleanliness
and discipline reigned.
He also took an interest in the “scientific management” methods of Taylor and Henry Ford, and
visited Detroit in 1911. At that time, what was later known as Fordism was still in embryonic form:
there was no assembly line, and wages were normal. Renault selected only a few features of the
American way. He thought that staff members working upstream on projects, analyzing and
preparing tasks, were essentially “non-productive,” and was careful to assign as few persons as
possible to these indirect duties. The only Ford factory characteristics he adopted were tool
engineering and task timing. The sudden appearance of the stopwatch triggered a strike, in fact,
which emptied the floor of his young factory. As time went on, Renault did not imitate Ford’s policy
of paying high wages, despite the fact that if employees had enough disposable income to afford
cars, they would constitute a new market. Assembly-line production was introduced only gradually.
Renault was always cautious and wary of innovation in these two fields – production system and
labor policy. Although the product was apparently his favorite subject, he always kept design teams
to a minimum, to prohibit perfectionism and excessive complexity. The engineering department did
only enough calculations and drawings to enable makers and developers to build a model “for real.”
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Louis Renault remained faithful to this principle throughout his life. Undeniably, it yielded great
savings. On the other hand, it also limited the developmental scope. The consequences were visible
in the choice of innovations. They were usually based on familiar or easily mastered elements, with a
will to copy certain competitors’ accomplishments, but they were hindered by an inability to go
beyond certain technical limitations.
Marcel Renault had established a cordial spirit for labor relations, but after his death, a chill set in,
leading occasionally to overt hostility. In 1906, workers briefly went on strike for higher wages and
shorter hours. At ehe end of 1912, a tenuous compromise had been reached to avert brewing unrest,
but the imposition of standardized times led in 1913 to the six-week “stopwatch strike”, which ended
with a lockout of 436 employees.
Preferring one-on-one conversations, Louis Renault often strolled through the shop, making sure
regulations were being obeyed, finding ways to simplify a worker’s task or to economize on
resources. He was a progressive, always seeking improvement.

Main strengths
A whole variety of challenges were met with coherent solutions. The simplicity of the product
Renault was offering to a budding market guaranteed its reliability and durability, but also its
performance, thanks to the auto’s power for its weight. The benefits of this approach did not stop
there: simplicity also facilitated manufacture, daily use, and maintenance. And it did not necessarily
entail austerity. Care was lavished on details, offering the consumer high value in use. Last but not
least, simplicity kept costs low. Profit margins were healthy. If innovation was necessary, it was
achieved by a wise rearrangement of tried-and-true techniques (like the direct drive), or by cautious
experimentation (for example, the choice of the AX engine or that of the 50 HP). Renault rarely
hurled himself into unexplored technological space.
Instead, he adopted the sort of values that never go out of style: satisfying customer needs, continual
progress, a product/process approach, the concept of after-sales service. As a result, he could
respond to the market quickly and dominate it with authority. Reputation boosted sales, and vice-
versa.
Equipped with these assets, on the eve of the Great War, Louis Renault occupied an extraordinary
position: a tycoon, he had forged a name for himself as a great industrialist. In 1913, when he was 36
years old, he was elected president of the French automakers’ guild, the Chambre Syndicale des
Constructeurs Automobiles.

World War I – Renault as the artisan of

Figure 21 – A munitionnette shipping
out newly manufactured shells.
victory
In 1914, the French automobile industry employed 100,000
people, 70% of them in the Paris area. Renault’s Billancourt
plant, covering 35 acres, with 4,970 workers, was the
cornerstone of the edifice, producing 10% of the overall
output. Renault’s business was chiefly oriented towards the
civilian consumer market, with the exception of some of the
airplane engines. Initially, the company was not predisposed to
work for the defense industry.
As soon as war broke out, in August and September, the chiefs
of military staff suddenly realized they had underestimated
their ammunition needs. Counting on the terrifying efficiency
of modern weaponry, they had predicted the war would be
over in a matter of weeks. The crisis that ensued forced the
government to appeal to private industry for assistance. The
most urgent need was for artillery shells. They were being fired
at a rate that overwhelmed the abilities of government