Even before the Renault brothers Louis, Fernand and Marcel founded their company in February 1899, Louis Renault was already driving around Paris in a car of his own design. After the early death of his brothers, he ran the company alone until his own demise in 1944. The following year, the ‘Société Anonyme’ was nationalised to become the ‘Régie Nationale des Usines Renault’. In addition to cars, Renault also built lorries, tanks, aircraft and boat engines as well as railcars and locomotives. The brand with the rhombus was also involved in motor racing: In the 1979 season, Renault won the first Grand Prix victory for a car with a turbocharged engine. Since 1999, the French have been co-operating with Nissan.