Berliet was a French manufacturer of various vehicles including automobiles, buses, trucks, and military vehicles. The company was founded in 1899 and was based in Vénissieux, near Lyon, France. It remained in private ownership for most of its history, except for a period of five years from 1944 to 1949 when it was placed under "administration sequestre." In 1967, it was acquired by Citroën and later by Renault in 1974. Berliet was merged with Saviem to form a new company, Renault Trucks, in 1978, and the Berliet brand was phased out by 1980.
History
Marius Berliet was an early French automobile pioneer who began experimenting with automobiles in 1894. He developed some single-cylinder cars, and by 1900, he had created a twin-cylinder model. In 1902, Berliet acquired the plant of Audibert & Lavirotte in Lyon and began producing four-cylinder automobiles with a honeycomb radiator and steel chassis frame instead of wood. The following year, Berliet launched a model that was similar to contemporary Mercedes. In 1906, Berliet sold the license for manufacturing his model to the American Locomotive Company.
Before World War I, Berliet produced a range of models, from 8 CV to 60 CV, with four-cylinder engines of 2412 cc and 4398 cc respectively, and a six-cylinder model of 9500 cc. A 1539 cc model (12 CV) was produced between 1910 and 1912. From 1912, six-cylinder models were made only upon individual orders.
