Saviem
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Automotive industry |
| Fate | Merged into Renault Véhicules Industriels |
| Predecessors | |
| Successor | Renault Trucks |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Defunct | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Suresnes, France |
| Products | Trucks, light commercial vehicles, buses/coaches |
| Parent | Régie Nationale des Usines Renault |
The Société Anonyme de Véhicules Industriels et d'Equipements Mécaniques (French pronunciation: [sɔsjete də vɛikyl ɛ̃dystʁijɛl e dəkipəmɑ̃ mekanik]), commonly known by the acronym Saviem (French pronunciation: [savjɛ̃]), was a French manufacturer of trucks and buses/coaches part of the Renault group, headquartered in Suresnes. The company was established in 1955 by merging Renault heavy vehicle operations with Somua and Latil and disappeared in 1978 when was merged with former rival Berliet to form Renault Véhicules Industriels.
The company initially had various factories for vehicle production around France (mainly at the Paris area) which came from its predecessors and Chausson, but it soon centred assembly on Blainville-sur-Orne (trucks) and Annonay (buses and coaches). Saviem formed partnerships with other manufacturers, leading to technology-sharing agreements.
At the end of 1946, Renault abandoned the production of heavy trucks in view of its financial troubles, and the company lost the position of France's market leader which it had before World War II. However, the rapid development and production concentration on that sector made Renault to seek ways to enter into the market. In 1950, the Renault's technical chief, Fernand Picard, elaborated a plan to launch a limited range of trucks and buses with a single 105 CV engine, taking advantage of the economies of scale, which proved unsuccessful. In 1953, the strategy was changed and Renault decided to acquire rival manufacturers, starting with Somua and Latil. The company Saviem was formed in October 1955 by the merger of Renault's trucks and buses manufacturing operations with Somua and Latil and both Schneider (owner of Somua) and the Blum family (owner of Latil) had stakes in the new company. Initially, the Saviem name was added besides the existing badges of the three forming companies but, from 1957 onwards, Saviem-LRS appeared as marque's name on the company's products (the acronym representing the former marques Latil, Renault and Somua), which was simplified to Saviem in 1960. In 1959, Saviem became a whole-owned subsidiary of Renault. The early range of the company consisted of small commercial vehicles derived of Renault's existing models (Goélette and Galion), new medium and heavy trucks with Alfa Romeo engines and Chausson support for the coach/bus production. With an aggressive market approach focussed in volume rather than quality, Saviem became the leader by sales in France.
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