Renault Samsung Motors plans to jump-start its export drive with a sport utility vehicle that the carmaker says is part of its long-term strategy to serve as a strategic Asia-Pacific base for Renault Group.
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“Renault Samsung plans to develop an SUV model through joint support from Renault and Nissan,” Jerome Stoll, president and CEO of the Korean carmaker, told a news conference, according to the Korea Herald.
“Once it is developed, the SUV will be the flagship car for the company’s exports and the company will tap into overseas markets on a full scale.”
The paper said that, if successful, the move will likely redefine Korea’s fifth-largest carmaker as an exporter and diminish its dependence on domestic sales. The SUV development, coupled with a large sedan project, is expected to raise the company’s position on the domestic market as a full-range carmaker.
The Korea Herald said the narrow scope of its current lineup has prevented the company from competing in those rapidly expanding and most profitable segments. Currently, Renault Samsung makes just two models: the SM5 midsize and the SM3 compact sedans, both based on Nissan platforms.
Renault Samsung was launched by Renault SA in September 2000, after the French car giant acquired a controlling 70% stake in Samsung Motors Corp., the ill-fated car venture of Samsung Group.
Stoll reportedly said that the SUV would be produced only at Renault Samsung’s plant in the southern port city of Busan but declined to give further details about the vehicle.
In January, Renault Samsung installed at its Busan plant a 15.6 billion won ($US13.4 million) assembly line for a large sedan based on Nissan’s Teana/Maxima model with production scheduled to begin early next year.
He stressed that the two new models will enable the company to play a core role in the Asia-Pacific region as a member of the Renault-Nissan alliance.
Earlier this month, a Japanese business newspaper reported that Nissan would stop providing technical assistance to the Korean carmaker, as the Japanese company planned to directly enter the Korean market.
“The report is absolutely not true,” Stoll said, according to the Korea Herald. “We will continue to cooperate with Nissan and Renault.”
He reportedly added that Renault Samsung would next year begin making passenger vehicles equipped with diesel engines by tapping the diesel technology of its French parent.
This year, Renault Samsung plans to sell 120,000 cars domestically, an increase of 9.5% from last year, as weak domestic consumption and the economic slowdown is expected to rebound later this year, the Korea Herald added.
