A sturdy, stately vehicle roamed Vietnam's city streets and rural roads not too long ago.
Originally designed in the late 1940s and re-branded as the Renault Goélette in 1959, this durable model of light van was conceived with the support of the French Ministry of Industrial Production for various transport purposes following World War 2.
The French Renault motor company was founded in 1899 and closely supported France's many military exploits over the years including colonial expansions. Not surprisingly, many of the vehicles found their way to Vietnam, where they found new civilian use following reunification. As these photos featured on RedsVN and taken from Flickr user Ian Lynas reveal, people found them to be particularly useful for moving citizens and goods on regular routes.
A Renault Goélette parked at the bus station in Huế in 1996.
In France, the Renault Goélette were officially replaced by an alternate line of larger light trucks in May 1965. They remained in use in southern Vietnam well into the 1990s however. You are very unlikely to catch sight of one here today, but they remain popular amongst a niche group of global collectors.
Have a peek at the dependable transports captured in 1996 below:
Painted white and red, this Renault Goélette cruises along the Đà Nẵng–Vĩnh Điện route.
A man watches this one pass on the Đà Nẵng–Hội An route.
The model seems noticeably out of place compared to the other larger buses used at the time.
The strong, flat roof made it ideal for stacking personal goods, products, and commercial goods.
Depending on the specific version, the Renault Goélettes could run on gas or oil.
Some of the regular routes offered pretty stunning scenes of the countryside.
As the open doors and windows of this loaded van reveal, they were not air-conditioned.
[Top image features a van used for a route running in from Huế]
