Interesting stories about the Renault company!

Birth, first steps, stepping out into the world, growing up, coming into your own, both physically and socially… Every person goes through these stages. We honour our history, and we treasure the photos and objects tied to one memory or another.

But do we know the history of our favourite brands? We drive a car and don't even suspect where its name came from. Let's take a little trip in a time machine and see how it all began. Get comfortable, buckle up, let's go!

The distant year of 1898. The first of October became a landmark day for two French engineers, the brothers Louis and Marcel Renault, and, as it later turned out, for the whole of world automotive history. It was on this very day that the doors of the newly founded company Renault Frères ("Renault Brothers") opened for the first time. This unknown but highly ambitious pair set to work, championing scientific and technical progress as a way to improve people's lives.

Among the first things the brothers offered was a new car design. They tested their invention on the Paris street rue Lepic on the 24th of December that same year. Louis Renault was behind the wheel. People in high circles started talking about the brothers.

In 1899, Louis and Marcel Renault entered three races at once (Paris-Trouville, Paris-Ostend and Paris-Rambouillet), taking first place in each of them. From that year on, the Renault name never left the front pages of the newspapers, and the company's products began competing with the automobile market's established leaders in popularity, quality and price. In terms of service availability and spare parts prices, Renault always held the top spots. A little later, in that same spare-parts segment, only the equally popular Ford spare parts could compete with Renault.

Over the following three years, the brothers won a string of races and grands prix. Their name became synonymous with success, victories and an incredibly fast rise.

The first service centres and dealers opened. All kinds of spare parts for Renault became widely available. Cars needing inspection could be checked and repaired right at the factory. Getting a Renault repaired became very popular (given that back then there were only a handful of cars around!). The company's fame spread abroad too, turning Renault Frères into a European brand! From this moment on began its climb to the top of the world automotive industry!