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Producing automobiles since late 1897, the Renault corporation was formed in 1899 in France by Louis Renault, his brothers Marcel and Fernand, and two of his friends.

The company produces cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks.

Due to its alliance with Nissan, it is currently the world's fourth largest automaker with Carlos Ghosn as its current CEO.

The Renault brothers recognised early the publicity they could be obtained for their vehicles by participation in motor racing.

Motor sport has long been recognised as an effective marketing tool for automobile manufacturers, which is why in the late seventies and early eighties, Renault began to involve itself more heavily in motor sport, setting up a dedicated motor sport division called Renault Sport.

It won the Le Mans 24 Hours while achieving success in both rallying and Formula One.

In 2001, it took over the Benetton F1 team and quickly became very competitive.

In 2005, the team won both Constructors' and Drivers' titles. In 2006 Renault repeated its success of the previous year, again claiming both the Constructors' and Drivers' titles.

Renault’s has an extensive range.

Its best seller, the Clio, is available in hatchback or estate, followed by the second most-popular, the Megane.

Renault has also made an entry into the four-wheel-drive market with the Koleos.

Renault also produces its very successful estate, the Espace, and the very comfortable Laguna.

Others user-friendly vehicles in the range include the famous Twingo, the Modus and the Kangoo.

GREEN CREDENTIALS

Renault is pushing ahead with its electric vehicle project to make environmentally-friendly electric cars.

It is working on development of exchangeable batteries and has announced the development of four electric models.

In 2007, it introduced a new line of eco-friendly vehicles marked eco². A minimum of five per cent recycled plastic is used in all models and at the end of the vehicles’ life the remains are 95 per cent reusable. eco² line’s CO2 emissions do not exceed 140g/km or are biofuel compatible.

Renault states that it is "committed to sustainable development, reflected in practical initiatives to protect the environment."

It aims to be among the top three car companies for low emissions of carbon dioxide, to offer a range of cars powered by biofuels such as bio-ethanol and bio-diesel.

Renault claims to have in place plans that will see 1 million of its models sold producing 140g/km or less, a third of which will be 120g/km and under.

They also list as an aim the target that by 2009 50% of all Renaults available for sale will be capable of running an 85% ethanol mix in their petrol and diesel models.

Above and beyond the car side of things, Renault can boast that 90% of its factories have achieved ISO14001 certification which encourages environmental best practice.

The company has five policies governing its environmental credentials:

Maintain the heritage in whatever site Renault is present.

Analyse and eliminate the environmental impact of its activities.

Product and service offerings should be reconciled with the need for environmental protection by including this consideration throughout the product lifecycle.

Environmental monitoring should be implemented in such a way that external monitoring is possible through the life of the product.

Provide transparent environmental reporting processes.

In 2006 Renault won the Environmental Management for Sustainable Development prize.