as formed in 1898 by three brothers, Louis, Marcel and Fernand Renault. The company was nationalised in 1945 by the post-World War II De Gaulle government. The company has been operating in the UK for more than 90 years.
The group's activities are organised into two main divisions: automotive and financial.
The automotive division is responsible for designing, making and marketing passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. It also handles related activities such as agricultural machinery.
The finance division is responsible for the support of financial and commercial businesses, and brings together the subsidiaries responsible for sales financing and services. It is also responsible for the group's cash funds.
This year has seen the launch of a revamped Megane model, which was unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed by the Renault Formula One driver Jenson Button and Renault UK's managing director Philippe Talou-Derible. The company has also launched two cars, the Vel Santis and Avantime. The Vel Santis will be Renault's top-of-the-range UK model, competing against the likes of the Audi A6, Peugeot 607 and BMW 5 Series while the Avantime will compete in the MPV market along with the Renault Espace.
The company returned to Formula One in 2002 with a 100% Renault team.
Renault had its own team from 1977 to 1985 before joining forces with Williams in 1989 and later Benetton. In 2000, Renault bought Benetton's F1 team and supplied the engine for the 2001 season. This came full circle earlier this year, when it returned as a wholly in-house team.
In May 2002 a series of ads created by Publicis were launched for the Clio. The ads showed French footballer Thierry Henry searching for the meaning of 'Va Va Voom', a phrase which was used in the previous campaign for the car. The campaign aims to show the more masculine side of the Clio, which had not been focused on previously.
RENAULT UK
Total group turnover £22,816m
Total pre tax income £640m
Total employees 140,500
(Year to December 31, 2001)
Advertising agency
Publicis
Media buyer
Optimedia
Adspend (year to July 2002)
TV £27,974,831
Outdoor £3,865,070
Press £19,495,464
Radio £3,904,981
Cinema £3,701,665
Direct mail £1,244,836
Total £60,186,847
Source: ACNielsen MMS
Chairman and European marketing director
Louis Schweitzer
Marketing director, Renault Trucks UK
Euan Harron
Director of customer marketing and e-commerce
Richard Harrison
UK headquarters
Rivers Office Park, Denham Way, Maple Cross, Rickmansworth WD3 9YS
Tel: 01923 895000
Web sites: www.renault.com
www.renault.co.uk
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