Pour la sauvegarde et la valorisation de notre Culture Industrielle

Fondation de l'Automobile Marius Berliet

Aim and purpose

The heirs of the Lyonnese manufacturer Marius Berliet and Renault Véhicules Industriels have created the Automobile Marius Berliet Foundation in January 1982.

To start with, 2 objectives:

  • The safeguarding and valorisation of the past of motor vehicles of the region of the Great Lyon
  • The safeguarding and valorisation of the history of trucks, bus and coaches of all French manufacturers

A regional approach…

Around 150 manufacturers of cars and trucks started their activities in the Rhône Alpes region, and, with Paris, Lyon has been at the origin of the national and international automotive industry.
As far back as before 1914, the region of Lyon school and its automotive manufacturers were known for their strong and reliable products due to the hard conditions of use in a region surrounded with many mountains.

A national approach…

France, with more than 150 automotive manufacturers identified, is considered as the birthplace of the commercial vehicles and of the first truck hauliers.

The Foundation gathers all information related to the history of all these brands and manufacturers.

Our strong main point: understand today at the light of our past…

A civilisation cannot be defined without making reference to its technologies, and to the human genius, which allowed men to play a role.

  • Moving people and carrying goods have been necessary to our development, if not to our survival, and have been the most relevant activities of the human genius. In that respect France presents a heritage of exceptional value.
  • La Fondation Marius Berliet takes care of all aspects of this heritage, products, machines-tools and documents.