RENAULT

Buses, Cars and Trucks France

Part VII – Restructuring (1981–1995)

1981

1982

1983

1983 Renault 25

1984

1985

Although its cars were somewhat successful both on the road and on the track, including the 1984 launch of the Espace – Europe’s first multi-purpose vehicle – Renault was losing a billion francs a month and reported a deficit of 12.5 billion in 1984. The government intervened and Georges Besse was installed as chairman; he set about cutting costs dramatically, selling off many of Renault’s non-core assets (including a minority Volvo stake, Gitane, Eurocar and Renix), withdrawing almost entirely from motorsports, and laying off many employees. This succeeded in halving the deficit by 1986, but he was murdered by the communist terrorist group Action Directe in November 1986. He was replaced by Raymond Lévy, who continued along the same lines as Besse, slimming down the company considerably with the result that by the end of 1987 it was more or less financially stable.

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

In 1990 Renault strengthened its collaboration with Volvo by signing an agreement which allowed both companies to reduce vehicle conception costs and purchasing expenses. Renault had access to Volvo expertise in upper market segments and in return Volvo could take advantage of Renault designs for low and medium segments. In 1993 the two companies announced their intention to merge operations by 1 January 1994 and both increased their cross-shareholding. While in France the idea of merging was reluctantly accepted, in Sweden the opposition was outspoken and the Volvo shareholders rejected it.

1992

1993

1994

A revitalised Renault launched several successful new cars in the early 1990s, including the 5 replacement, the Clio in 1990. The Clio is the first new model of a generation which will see the numeric models replaced by new cars with traditional nameplates. Other important launches included the second-generation Espace and the innovative Twingo in 1992. The launches were aligned with an improved marketing effort on European markets. In the mid-1990s the successor to the R19, the Renault Mégane, was one of the first cars to achieve a 4-star rating, the highest at the time, in EuroNCAP crash test in passenger safety.

1995

That was

Part VII – Restructuring (1981–1995)

only one left

Part IX

till now