Renault 215D

The Renault 215D is the first coach produced by the French maker Renault after the end of the Second World War. This forward-cab coach is available in several lengths offering 22 to 35 seats, and it is very closely derived from the ZPD model. Right after the war, in 1945, there was a timid recovery in all economic sectors and demand for vehicles of all kinds was very strong. At Renault more than half the workshops had been destroyed by bombing and the workforce had fallen from 40,000 in 1939 to 13,000, and the company was nationalised on 16 January 1945 as the Regie Nationale des Usines Renault. The 215D was the first coach produced after the Boulogne-Billancourt works were restored. It is built on the chassis of the 7 tonne 208D truck with a forward cab, and production began on 16 January 1946. It was a basic vehicle with heavy steering, unsynchronised gears and a noisy engine under a bulky bonnet. Production of the 215D and of the lengthened R4150 coach and R4151 bus was limited to 2,795 examples until 29 September 1949, and it was soon made obsolete by the Chausson AP46, AP47 and AP48.