-2004.jpg)
Renault Magnum
'Renault Trucks' is a
French truck manufacturer with its corporate headquarters at
Saint-Priest near
Lyon.
Since
2001, it is owned by '
Volvo'.
From its beginnings in
1978 to
2002, the company was called 'Renault Véhicules Industriels' (
French: Renault Commercial Vehicles), from
1992 on officially written as 'Renault V. I.', with either form commonly abbreviated '
RVI'. Until
1999, RVI also manufactured
buses.
History
In
1956, the company
Saviem was formed as a subsidiary company of
Renault from the combination of Renault's own truck and bus production with the producers
Somua and
Latil. From
1957 on, Saviem was also used as the brand name for the trucks and buses produced by the company.
As a result of French industrial policy, in
1975 state-owned Renault also acquired the truck and bus producer
Berliet from
Michelin. In
1978, Berliet and Saviem were merged to form Renault Véhicules Industriels. Again, the old brand names were retained for two more years while the model lineups gradually were incorporated, until in
1980 they were replaced by the name Renault.

Renault Midliner with ''Club of Four'' cab, late 1990s model
From 1975 on, Saviem also had been a member in the ''
Club of Four'', a cooperation between four European truck producers (Saviem,
Volvo,
DAF and
Magirus-Deutz, which soon after became a part of
Iveco) for the production of medium-sized trucks. The truck models resulting from this cooperation would be produced by Saviem and later Renault even until
2001 and also be sold on the North American market as ''Mack Mid-Liner''. For the military trucks of the
Sherpa range, Renault even today (July 2006) uses a derivative of the ''Club of Four'' cabin.
In 1978
PSA Group had bought
Chrysler's European operations. Included in the deal were commercial vehicle operations in the
UK and
Spain, which at that time used the brand name
Dodge. PSA however sold them on to RVI in
1983, having itself little interest in the commercial vehicle market. The newly acquired operations in the UK had their origins in the commercial vehicle branch of the
Rootes Group with originally the brand names
Karrier and
Commer. Some of the models built there were continued in production for several years by RVI, who also kept the Dodge brand name for these models, albeit in combination with the Renault
badge. In Spain, however, where Renault already was recognized as a local automobile producer, the Dodge trucks, which originally had been developed by the manufacturer
Barreiros Diesel, were rebadged as Renaults and soon after replaced by French-designed models.

1983 Spanish-built ex-Barreiros/Dodge Renault truck advertised in Spain
In
1987, RVI
took over from its mother company Renault a 40%
stake in the
American manufacturer
Mack Trucks which became a fully-owned subsidiary of RVI in
1990.
In
1994, RVI took over the
Czech bus manufacturer
Karosa.
In
1997, Renault V. I. entered into a cooperation agreement with the Finnish truck producer
Sisu.
In
1999, the bus and coach operations under the brand names Renault and Karosa were split off from RVI and merged with Fiat-
Iveco's bus and coach operations to form the jointly-owned subsidiary
Irisbus. In
2003, Irisbus became a full subsidiary of Iveco, and the brand Renault on its products was replaced by the brand Irisbus.
On
January 2,
2001, Renault V. I. (including Mack Trucks, but not Renault S. A.'s stake in Irisbus) was sold to Volvo, which renamed it Renault Trucks in 2002. As a result, the mother company Renault S. A. is AB Volvo's biggest shareholder, with a 20% stake, shares and voting rights.
As of
May 22,
2006 Renault Trucks took over
ACMAT.
Products
-2003.jpg)
Renault Premium

Renault Midlum
Hybrid trucks
Hybrid truck:
★
Renault Puncher 280
HP / 20 or 26
tonns.
Current truck models (as of July 2006)
There is no model name in the front of the vehicle (in some combinations, the trailer doesn't allow to see the model name in the rear part of the
tractor unit).
Delivery Range
★
Renault Master
★
Renault Mascott
Distribution Range
★
Renault Midlum(sold in Australia as Mack Midlum)
★
Renault Premium (sold in Australia as Mack Premium)
Construction Range
★
Renault Kerax
★
Renault Premium Lander
Long Distance Range
★
Renault Premium Route
★
Renault Magnum (formerly sold in Australia and New Zealand as Mack Magnum)
Former truck models
★
Dodge 50 Series
★
Dodge 100 Series
★
Dodge 300 Series
★
Renault C
★
Renault B (Messenger)
★
Renault M/
Renault S (Midliner)
★
Renault G (Manager/Maxter)
★
Renault R (Major)
Buses and coaches
★
Renault PR100
★
Renault R 312
★
Renault Agora
★
Renault FR 1
★
Renault Iliade
Military vehicles
★
Renault Sherpa 2–3
★
Renault Sherpa 5–20
★
Renault VAB - an armored personnel carrier
★
VBMO - a VAB based 6x6
internal security vehicle
★
ACMAT - a subsidiary manufacturer of tactical vehicles
Concept vehicles
★
Renault Radiance
★
Renault Magnum Vega
See also
★
Dump truck and
list of dump truck manufacturers
★
Electric vehicle
External links
★
Renault Trucks Global Website
★
Renault Trucks United Kingdom Website
★
Renault Trucks Defense Website
★
Renault Trucks History
★
Spanish Renault trucks gallery