Renault Group is a French multinational automobile manufacturer, founded in 1899 by Louis Renault and his brothers Fernand and Marcel. The company primarily produces a wide range of vans and cars but they also have a long history of manufacturing tractors, trucks, tanks, buses/coaches, auto rail vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft engines. Renault is also known for its role in motorsport, particularly Formula 1, Formula E, and rallying.
According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, in 2016, Renault was the 9th biggest automaker in the world by its production volume. Later in 2017, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi joint venture had also become the biggest seller of light vehicles globally. Currently the Renault cars in India are all focused in the entry level segment to add to the overall volume of the company globally. The present car models in India include an entry level hatchback (Kwid), compact MPV (Triber) and a sub-compact SUV (Kiger).
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Here are some more facts about Renault cars:
Voiturette 1CV was the first Renault car
Renault Voiturette 1CV was the first-ever car produced by the French auto company. This little car was manufactured between 1898 and 1903 and was sold to a friend of Louis’s father after a test drive.
The name Voiturette was used for five Renault models, i.e., Voiturette Type A, Voiturette Type B, Voiturette Type C, Voiturette Type D/E, and Voiturette Type G. The first Voiturette mounted a De Dion-Bouton engine. The model was assembled using continental tires which are still being used for several modern Renault models today.
Renault as the motorsport company
Renault participated in motorsport at the beginning of the 20th century prompted by Marcel Renault. Over the years, the brand acquired companies with sporting connections such as Alpine and Gordini.
In the 1970s, Renault set up a dedicated motorsport division called Renault Sport. Later in 1978, the company won the 24 hours of Le Mans with the Renault Alpine A442. Over the past few decades, Renault also has achieved success in both rallying and Formula One.
Renault became the leader in electric vehicle sales
In 2008, the Renault Nissan alliance signed a deal to assemble electric cars for the initiative in Israel with Better Place (which was a US company that developed a new non-petroleum-based transport infrastructure). Renault and Nissan together invested US$5.16 billion in eight electric vehicle production over 3-4 years at the beginning of 2011. In 2013, Renault became the leader of electric car sales in Europe due to its large range of vehicles like Zoe, Twizy, Kangoo, and Fluence.
Amongst these, Zoe was the best-selling all-electric car in 2015 and 2016 as it reached the 50,000 unit mark in June 2016. Since the launch of their electric car program, Renault has sold more than 2,73,000 EVs worldwide through December 2019. In 2021, Renault launched a new EV and is now planning a yearly output of 4,00,000 EVs by 2025.
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