Renault — History, Models and Everything You Need to Know

Louis Renault built his first car — a lightweight voiturette with a direct-drive gearbox — in the garden shed of his parents' home in Boulogne-sur-Seine in late 1898. He incorporated Renault Frères — Renault Brothers — with his brothers Marcel and Fernand in 1899. Louis was the engineer; Marcel and Fernand managed the commercial side. The company grew rapidly on the strength of Louis's mechanical talent and his brothers' business acumen. The early Renaults competed successfully in long-distance city-to-city races — the brutal events that passed for motorsport at the dawn of the 20th century — and Marcel Renault's death at the 1903 Paris-Madrid race, which was halted due to multiple fatalities, was a shattering blow to the company.

Renault became strategically important during World War I — producing the FT-17 tank, the first tank with a rotating turret, which influenced every tank design that followed. The company was nationalised by the French government in 1945 after Louis Renault's death in prison, where he was awaiting trial for collaboration with Nazi Germany during World War II. As a state-owned company, Renault pursued an accessible, democratic automotive philosophy — producing practical, affordable cars for ordinary French families. The 4CV and later the Renault 4 were defining vehicles of postwar French motoring. The Renault 5 of 1972 — a stylish, practical supermini — became one of Europe's best-selling cars and a cultural icon that transcended its segment.

Renault's involvement in Formula 1 as an engine supplier and constructor from 1977 onwards — introducing turbocharged engines to the sport — was one of the most significant technical contributions in the championship's history. The Renault engine won eight consecutive Constructors' Championships with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013. The F1 team was rebranded as Alpine in 2021. Renault formed its landmark alliance with Nissan in 1999, creating one of the world's largest automotive groups.

No product better illustrates Renault's current direction than the return of the Renault 5 as an electric car. The original R5 of 1972 was one of Europe's most beloved small cars — practical, stylish and genuinely characterful in a way that most superminis of the era were not. The new Renault 5 E-Tech, launched in 2024, deliberately references the original's proportions and personality while delivering them through an all-electric powertrain. It uses the AmpR Small platform — a dedicated EV architecture — and offers up to 400km of WLTP range in its largest battery configuration. Priced from around €25,000, it is one of the most affordable purpose-built electric cars in Europe and has been a critical and commercial success.

The Renault 4 E-Tech followed — reviving another iconic nameplate as a slightly larger electric crossover on the same platform. Together the R5 and R4 represent Renault's clearest statement of electric identity: affordable, stylish and distinctly French, in a segment where affordable EVs have been conspicuously absent.

Alpine was founded in 1955 by Jean Rédélé — a Renault dealer who began modifying Renault 4CVs for rallying. Alpine became famous for lightweight, rear-engined sports cars — the A110 Berlinette of 1962 won the first World Rally Championship in 1973. Renault revived Alpine as a standalone brand in 2017 with the new A110 — a lightweight mid-engine sports car that immediately won critical acclaim for its precise handling and driver focus. Alpine now also serves as Renault's Formula 1 team name and has launched the A290 — an electric hot hatch based on the Renault 5 platform — as the first chapter of its electric performance future.

Renault's strength is its ability to make cars that feel genuinely French — with design, personality and character that its competitors in the mainstream European segment cannot replicate. The Clio has been Europe's best-selling car for decades on the strength of its style and value. The new Renault 5 E-Tech has achieved something very few cars manage — making an affordable electric car feel desirable rather than merely practical. Renault's early commitment to electrification with the original Zoe in 2012 gave it a head start in EV knowledge and battery supply relationships that it is now leveraging through the Ampere EV business unit. And the Alliance with Nissan — despite recent tensions over ownership structure — gives Renault access to global scale and technology sharing that independent manufacturers cannot match.