Corée du Sud
Renault Samsung
Renault Samsung Motors is a South Korean automaker born in Busan. The company was founded in 1994 under the name Samsung Motors by the Samsung conglomerate (chaebol), driven by its chairman Lee Kun-hee, with technical assistance from Japan's Nissan. Vehicle production began in 1998, just a few months before the Asian financial crisis hit South Korea hard. Weakened by these conditions, Samsung's automotive division came under the control of France's Renault: in September 2000, Renault bought roughly 70% of the company's capital for nearly 560 million US dollars and renamed the company Renault Samsung Motors, with Samsung keeping a minority stake. Under Renault, the lineup gradually migrated from a Nissan-derived technical base to the platforms of the Renault group and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. The automaker carved out a place in the Korean market with sedans (SM series) and then SUVs (QM and XM series). In March 2022, the company dropped the Samsung name and adopted the Renault Korea Motors trade name, legally finalized in the summer of 2022, then simplified to Renault Korea in 2024. That same year, 2022, China's Geely group entered the capital by acquiring roughly 34% of the shares, with Renault remaining the majority shareholder (about 52.9%) and Samsung Card holding the balance. This partnership kicked off a new generation of hybrid and electric models developed jointly with Geely. In North America, the Renault Samsung brand never sold vehicles under its own name, but its Busan plant exported overseas for a long time: from 2014 to 2020, it notably assembled the Nissan Rogue under contract for the American and Canadian markets, complementing production from Nissan's Smyrna plant in Tennessee.
ActivePerformanceÉlectrique / hybrideCamion / utilitaireCoréennes
History
History of Renault Samsung
Renault Samsung Motors is a South Korean automaker born in Busan. The company was founded in 1994 under the name Samsung Motors by the Samsung conglomerate (chaebol), driven by its chairman Lee Kun-hee, with technical assistance from Japan's Nissan. Vehicle production began in 1998, just a few months before the Asian financial crisis hit South Korea hard. Weakened by these conditions, Samsung's automotive division came under the control of France's Renault: in September 2000, Renault bought roughly 70% of the company's capital for nearly 560 million US dollars and renamed the company Renault Samsung Motors, with Samsung keeping a minority stake. Under Renault, the lineup gradually migrated from a Nissan-derived technical base to the platforms of the Renault group and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. The automaker carved out a place in the Korean market with sedans (SM series) and then SUVs (QM and XM series). In March 2022, the company dropped the Samsung name and adopted the Renault Korea Motors trade name, legally finalized in the summer of 2022, then simplified to Renault Korea in 2024. That same year, 2022, China's Geely group entered the capital by acquiring roughly 34% of the shares, with Renault remaining the majority shareholder (about 52.9%) and Samsung Card holding the balance. This partnership kicked off a new generation of hybrid and electric models developed jointly with Geely. In North America, the Renault Samsung brand never sold vehicles under its own name, but its Busan plant exported overseas for a long time: from 2014 to 2020, it notably assembled the Nissan Rogue under contract for the American and Canadian markets, complementing production from Nissan's Smyrna plant in Tennessee.
Public founding or origin of Renault Samsung.
Technologies
Technologies, innovations and platforms
Renault Samsung's engineering is built on the shared platforms of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, and later on the partnership with Geely. The first sedans (SM3, SM5) were derived from Nissan architectures, before a switch to Renault platforms (the SM6, twin of the Talisman, and the QM6, derived from the Koleos on the CMF-C/D base). The compact XM3 / Arkana SUVs use the modular CMF-B platform with small turbocharged gasoline engines (1.3 TCe) and EDC dual-clutch or CVT transmissions. On the powertrain side, the lineup covers naturally aspirated and turbocharged gasoline, diesel (historically) and electrification. Electric vehicles have been present for a long time, with the SM3 Z.E., the Zoe and the Twizy quadricycle. Since the alignment with Geely, the Grand Koleos introduces an E-Tech hybrid system (1.5 turbo plus a multi-mode transmission) on the CMA architecture, while the electric Scenic E-Tech is built on a dedicated platform from Ampere, Renault's EV subsidiary. The vehicles include the usual driver-assistance features (emergency braking, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control). SUVs built on Alliance platforms (CMF-C/D for the QM6, CMF-B for the XM3) and then on the CMA base shared with Geely for the Grand Koleos. Turbocharged gasoline powertrains, diesel depending on the market, and the E-Tech hybrid system (1.5 turbo plus multi-mode transmission), with front-wheel or all-wheel drive. Sedans built on Nissan platforms (early generations) and then Renault platforms (the SM6 on the Talisman base). Naturally aspirated and turbocharged gasoline powertrains, diesel depending on the market, with manual, automatic or dual-clutch transmissions; comfort-oriented suspensions. Electric vehicles on dedicated platforms (Zoe, Scenic E-Tech on the Ampere base) and the E-Tech hybrid on the CMA base shared with Geely (Grand Koleos), pairing a 1.5 turbo gasoline engine with a multi-mode transmission and a small battery. Regenerative braking and driver-assistance features.
Brand image
Identity, reputation, strengths and weaknesses
Positioning
A South Korean automaker of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, allied with Geely, offering sedans, SUVs and electrified models primarily for the Korean market.
Reputation
In South Korea, Renault Samsung built a reputation for well-finished, comfortable and reliable sedans and SUVs, inherited in part from the assembly rigor of the Busan plant, long cited among the most productive in the Alliance. The brand has nonetheless suffered from an aging lineup and a more limited dealer network than Hyundai or Kia, which weighs on resale value and volumes. The partnership with Geely and the arrival of the hybrid Grand Koleos and the electric Scenic aim to renew an image perceived as endearing but losing momentum. With the brand absent from the North American market under its name, its awareness there is nil among the general public.
Strengths
Recognized assembly quality from the Busan plant, comfortable and well-equipped sedans and SUVs, access to the proven platforms of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and then to the hybrid and electric technologies of Geely and Ampere. The Sino-French partnership allows a rapid renewal of the lineup with modern hybrid (Grand Koleos) and electric (Scenic) models, at a competitive price positioning in the Korean market.
Points to watch
Commercial presence limited to South Korea and a few export markets, with no dealer network or brand image in North America, which complicates access to parts and service outside Asia. The lineup has suffered from aging and declining volumes against Hyundai and Kia. The proliferation of technical bases (Nissan, Renault, Geely) can complicate maintenance, and resale value remains lower than that of the dominant Korean brands.
Models
Renault Samsung models
Current or active models by market
Production and compatibility
Plants, tires and wheels
Production
The industrial heart of Renault Samsung is the Busan plant in South Korea, a site of about 1,650,000 m2 capable of producing up to 300,000 vehicles per year. This plant assembles models intended for the Korean market as well as export vehicles. Between August 2014 and March 2020, it built the Nissan Rogue under contract for export to the United States and Canada, at a targeted pace of about 80,000 units per year, or nearly 30% of its capacity. Aside from these exports of Korea-assembled Rogues, the Renault Samsung brand has no plant in North America and neither produces nor sells vehicles there under its own name; the Renaults sold locally came from the Nissan or Mitsubishi network.
Tires and wheels
Renault Samsung vehicles cover mainly compact to mid-size sedans (SM3, SM5, SM6) and compact to mid-size SUVs (XM3, QM6, Grand Koleos). They use the tire fitments and alloy wheels typical of these segments, with common wheel diameters generally ranging from compact to family-SUV sizes. The bolt patterns follow Renault-Nissan Alliance standards. Since these models are virtually nonexistent in Quebec, the practical interest concerns mostly any imported vehicles: plan for winter tires homologated for winter use, which are essential and mandatory in Quebec, and check the exact dimensions, load and speed ratings as well as the bolt pattern on the vehicle's label before buying tires or wheels.