The plan to produce a ZT 2 was first conceived in June 1935. On 12 December 1935 Renault had been ordered to produce a ZT 2 prototype, on a chassis to be taken from the first order of a hundred, but this was annulled when the ZT 2 was made part of the second order in a number of five. On 27 October 1937 the Renault factory estimated that all ten ZT 2s could be produced simultaneous to the second order production run and on 14 January 1938 it was thought that ZT 2 production could be ended in June 1938. Perhaps this was indeed accomplished as regards the first series of five, N° 95860 - 95864. The last five, N° M 3031 - M 3035, would only be assembled in December 1938. This just pertained to the hulls: none of these had yet been fitted with a turret. A first wooden mock-up of one, had been delivered on 13 July 1938. Only at the end of 1939 enough funds were made available to produce the turrets and finish the tanks at Rueil, a process that probably extended well into 1940.