Makes / Renault

Renault was formed by Louis Renault and his brothers in 1898 after Louis decided to convert his tricycle into a four wheeled vehicle with a new invention - a gear box. The first orders for the car were placed after Louis won a bet with friends on Christmas Eve of that year. Louis' two brothers Fernand and Marcel took charge of the Renault business, continuing to pay Louis a healthy salary for his patented gear box. The company celebrated its privatisation in 1996 by working on new designs, the Laguna and the Megane. Privatising the company also allowed them to take a 44% stake in Nissan, while the Japanese company took a 15% stake with no voting rights in return. Nissan's boss Carlos Ghosn also took over as head of Renault in 2005.