Founder Profile
Louis Renault
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Louis Renault?
Louis Renault is a founder of Renault S.A., which was founded in 1899 with Marcel Renault and Fernand Renault.
- Company founded
- Renault S.A.
- Founded
- 1899
- Co-founders
- Marcel Renault and Fernand Renault
Background
Self-taught mechanic and engineer (1877-1944) who built his first car, the Voiturette Type A, in 1898 and patented its direct-drive gearbox.
Founding Story
Louis Renault was the engineering force behind Renault. After building the Voiturette Type A in Billancourt in 1898, he co-founded Societe Renault Freres with his brothers Marcel and Fernand in 1899. Racing success helped prove the cars' reliability. After Marcel's death in 1903 and Fernand's retirement, Louis ran the company alone, expanding into taxis, trucks, aircraft engines and the Renault FT tank of World War I. He was arrested after the 1944 liberation over wartime production for the occupying forces and died in custody that year. The company was nationalized in 1945.
Education: Lycée Condorcet. Louis Renault was born in 1877.