Louis Renault

Louis Renault was born on 28 February 1877, or 12 February according to other sources, into an ordinary French family. No one could have imagined that this unassuming boy would leave a lasting mark on automotive history as a co-founder of Renault. The fourth child of a French businessman, he was interested in machinery from childhood and spent much time in steam-engine designer Léon Serpollet’s workshop. He also studied old Panhard engines at his family’s country home in Boulogne-Billancourt.

In 1898, with his assistants, he built his first car: a modified 1.75 hp De Dion-Bouton with a three-speed gearbox, a direct top gear and drive transmitted to a propeller shaft. He patented the gearbox a year later. His first car was called the Voiturette.

That December, he bet friends that his car could climb Rue Lepic in Montmartre. After winning, he built thirteen more cars to order.

A year later, on 25 February 1989, he founded his first car company, Société Renault Frères, with his older brothers Fernand and Marcel. The commercial potential of his early cars prompted the venture. He put his older brother in charge while concentrating on engineering and design. Louis only took over management in 1908, when Fernand withdrew for health reasons. Marcel had died in the Paris–Madrid race in 1903.

As head of the company, Louis continued its development. Some of his inventions survive today, including the hydraulic shock absorber and drum brake. During the First World War, Renault produced equipment for the army. Louis was later awarded the Legion of Honour. Shortly after the war, his son Jean-Louis was born.

In the 1920s, Renault manufactured cars, agricultural equipment and marine and industrial machinery. Around that time, it adopted vertical integration.

In the 1930s, workers struck against wage cuts and stricter discipline. The government ended the unrest through measures and concessions. Renault’s profits fell sharply, prompting a return to small passenger cars to improve earnings.

At the start of the Second World War, Renault again supplied military equipment to the French army until France fell in 1940. The company came under German occupation control, and all posts were filled by Daimler-Benz personnel. Two years later, Allied forces destroyed the factory, and Louis was diagnosed with aphasia, a loss of speech.

Soon after liberation, he was arrested on charges of collaborating with the Nazis. He was later sent to Fresnes prison, where he suffered brutal beatings.

Louis Renault died from head injuries on 24 October 1944 at Ville-Évrard hospital in France. His death was never investigated. A few months later, Renault was nationalised.

His only son, Jean-Louis, received compensation for his father’s death in 1967. Louis himself, however, has still not been officially cleared of the charge.