Renault is upbeat on prospects for EV sales in South Korea according to an interview given by a Renault executive to the Korea Herald.
"When we launched our electric cars in Korea five years ago, many people were sceptical, saying the green cars will not be working in Korea," Renault senior VP Gilles Normand told the Herald.
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He said the Korean EV sector had grown to almost 1% of the market and was attracting more OEMs and suppliers.
He cited the Korean government's strong green push and local tech firms' advanced technologies as the reasons for the upbeat outlook.
"Korea has very strong requirements for the fuel economy by the Environment Ministry. Under the regulation, each carmaker should be bound to improve fuel efficiency and (developing) electric cars are the only way to improve fuel efficiency," Normand told the newspaper.
The Herald said Korean mandatory fuel economy standards took effect in 2006 and they have 2020 targets that require fuel consumption reductions of 31.1% for cars and 15.2% for light trucks on a 2013 baseline.
The newspaper said that annual sales of the EV market in Korea have risen from 1,000 units in 2014 to over 10,000 units this year.
"Korea's high level technology skills and capabilities to develop autonomous driving is another reason I am also convinced about the nation's future EV market," Normand added. He said autonomous driving will be electric in the future.
This week, Renault Samsung Motors has launched an updated SM3 ZE EV at the Daegu International Future Auto Expo in South Korea.
