Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and military vehicles among other vehicles based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. Founded in 1899, and apart from a five-year period from 1944 to 1949 when it was put into 'administration sequestre' it was in private ownership until 1967 when it then became part of Citroën, and subsequently acquired by Renault in 1974 and merged with Saviem into a new Renault Trucks company in 1978. The Berliet marque was phased out by 1980.

Early history

thumbnail|left|A racing-model Berliet driven by [[Jean Porporato in the 1908 Targa Florio race]]

thumb|left|Berliet 20 HP Closed swing-seat [[tonneau 1903]]

thumb|right|Berliet 40 HP [[Tourer 1904]]

started his experiments with automobiles in 1894. Some single-cylinder cars were followed in 1900 by a twin-cylinder model. In 1902, Berliet took over the plant of Audibert & Lavirotte in Lyon. Berliet started to build four-cylinder automobiles featuring a honeycomb radiator, and a steel chassis frame was used instead of wood. The next year, a model was launched that was similar to contemporary Mercedes. In 1906, Berliet sold the licence for manufacturing his model to the American Locomotive Company.

Before World War I, Berliet offered a range of models from 8 HP to 60 HP. The main models had four-cylinder engines (2412 cc and 4398 cc, respectively), and there was 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 upon individual orders only.

First World War

The First World War led to a massive increase in demand.

right|thumb| Berliet CBA at the [[Fleury-devant-Douaumont|Verdun Memorial museum. The CBA became the iconic truck on the Voie Sacrée, supplying the battle front at Verdun during 1916. It continued in production until 1932.]]

In 1915 a site was purchased between Vénissieux and Saint-Priest in order to build a new principal factory. 25,000 of these 4/5 ton Berliet trucks, originally launched in 1914, were ordered by the French army. During 1916 40 of them were leaving the plant each day. Under license from Renault, Berliet were also producing shells and battle tanks at this time. The number of workers employed increased to 3,150.

By 1917 the value of annual turnover had multiplied fourfold since the start of the war, The single truck on which Berliet focused was the 5 ton CBA that had served the nation so well during the war. The range for 1925 was as follows:

Pushing up market

New six-cylinder models followed in 1927. By October 1928, just twelve months before the Wall Street crash crystallized a savage downturn for the western economies, three of the four cars offered for 1929 on the Berliet stand at the Paris Motor Show, were powered by six cylinder engines. The range for 1929 was as follows: The new car received a proper name, and the Berliet Dauphine 11CV was powered by a 1,990 cc (11CV) engine. For 1939 Berliet stopped producing car bodies and the last few hundred Berliet Dauphines, produced in the first half of 1939, used the body of a Peugeot 402 with a custom-made Berliet hood/bonnet and radiator grille.

Second World War and aftermath

thumb|right|Berliet GLR

thumb|right|Berliet GAK, 1963 stack bed truck used in a brickyard

Regular passenger car production ceased in 1939 and after World War II, the company produced trucks only, with buses added to the range later. However, more than 20 brand-new sedans were in the factory when the Germans requisitioned it in June 1940, and these were immediately put into service. After the liberation, from late 1944 to early 1945, about 50 sedans were assembled from parts on hand, and in 1946, the last 15 sedans were completed by the Geneva agents. The company was given back to the family in 1949, but to Marius Berliet's son Paul following the founder's death earlier that year. The Berliet GLR truck became the first new post-war product.

In his 1975 book, Vichy France: old guard and new order: 1940-1944, Robert Paxton contrasted the fate of the Berliet truck factory in Lyon, which remained in Marius Berliet's family possession, despite his having manufactured 2,330 trucks for the Germans. As it happened, Renault's were the only factories permanently seized by the French government.

Berliet manufactured the largest truck in the world in 1957, the T100 6X6 with either and from a Cummins V12 engine. Available as a 6WD Dumptruck or 6X6 Roadtractor for Europe and North Africa it was designed in 10 months at the factory in Courbevoie, outside of Paris, with a second example built in 1958 and two further T100s built in 1959.

Later on a separate company called MOL Trucks of Hooglede, Belgium, bought the design rights of some original Berliet models of the 1970s and started to manufacture their own original MOL model range consisting of medium to large 4X4, 6X6 and 8X8 lorries and roadtractors. Their design and engineering was entirely based on selected former Berliet units.

Citroën, Renault and demise

In August 1967, it was reported that Berliet had been taken over by Citroën, Berliet share holders receiving Citroën shares in return for their Berliet stock. In 1966, Berliet's final year as an independent, they had produced approximately 17,000 units.

See also

  • Missions Berliet-Ténéré
  • SNVI, Algerian truck manufacturer using former Berliet assets in Algeria

References

  • http://www.fondationberliet.org/ (in French and English for the most part)