Berliet was founded in 1899 by Marius Berliet in Lyon, France, and grew from building early automobiles into one of Europe's most important producers of trucks, buses and commercial vehicles. The company supplied French industry, agriculture and the military throughout much of the twentieth century and was known for robust, workmanlike machines built for hard use.

Berliet is best remembered for its heavy trucks and buses, which served across France, Europe and Africa, and for its own diesel engines developed for demanding commercial duty. The company was also a significant military supplier, producing trucks and armoured vehicles over many decades. In 1974 Renault took control of Berliet, and in 1978 Berliet and Saviem were merged into Renault Vehicles Industriels, after which the Berliet name gradually disappeared from new vehicles.

Berliet manuals document the engines and systems used across its range, including diesel engine overhaul and fuel-injection equipment, gearboxes and drive axles, steering, brakes and the electrical systems with wiring diagrams. They include torque specifications, injection timing and adjustment data, diagnostic procedures, and the scheduled maintenance required for trucks and buses in commercial operation.

These manuals serve owners and operators of surviving Berliet vehicles, independent commercial-vehicle specialists, and restorers who keep these historic French trucks and buses in running order. They are also useful to historians and museums that preserve Berliet vehicles as part of the story of French commercial road transport.