Renault

Renault S.A. is a French vehicle manufacturer producing cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks.
Producing cars since late 1898, the Renault corporation was founded in 1899 as Société Renault Frères by Louis Renault, his brothers Marcel and Fernand, and his friends Thomas Evert and Julian Wyer. 

The first Renault car, the Renault Voiturette 1CV was sold to a friend of Louis' father after giving him a test ride on December 24, 1898. The client was so impressed with the way the tiny car ran and how it climbed the streets that he bought it.

The brothers immediately recognised the publicity that could be obtained for their vehicles by participation in motor racing and Renault made itself known through achieving instant success in the first city-to-city races held in Switzerland, resulting in rapid expansion for the company. Both Louis and Marcel Renault raced company vehicles, but Marcel was killed in an accident during the 1903 Paris-Madrid race. Although Louis Renault never raced again, his company remained very involved, including their Renault AK 90CV winning the first ever Grand Prix motor racing event in 1906.

Renault's compact and economical Renault 5 model, launched in 1972, was another success, particularly in the wake of the 1973 energy crisis. The Renault 5 remained in production until 1984 when it was replaced by the Renault Super5. 

In the late seventies and early eighties Renault increased its involvement in motorsport, with novel inventions such as turbochargers in their Formula One cars.

Renault Laguna; picture ©Mystic Realms
A revitalised Renault launched several successful new cars in the early 1990s, including the phenonemonally successful 5 replacement the Renault Clio, the second generation Renault Espace, the innovative Renault Twingo, the Renault Laguna, and the Renault 19. In mid-1990s introduced successor to Renault R19, Renault Mégane, was the first car ever to achieve a 4-star rating, the highest at the time, in EuroNCAP crash test in passenger safety. In 1998 Renault introduced Renault Mégane Scénic, a completely new class of cars, a compact monospace with a footprint of a regular Renault Mégane. The return to success on the road was matched by a return to success on the racetrack – Renault-powered cars won the Formula One World Championship in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997 with Williams, and in 1995 with Benetton.

From Wikipedia

Renault