Renault Samsung Motors
Renault Samsung Motors (Korean: 르노삼성자동차 , IPA: [ɾɯnoː sʰamsʰʌŋ dʑadoŋtɕʰa] ), also known by the acronym RSM, is a South Korean car manufacturer headquartered in Busan where its single assembly site is also located, with extra facilities at Seoul (administration) and Giheung (research and development). It was very first established as Samsung Motors in one thousand nine hundred ninety four by the chaebol Samsung, with technical assistance from Nissan. The company began selling cars in 1998, just before South Korea was hit by the Asian financial crisis. In September 2000, it became a subsidiary of Renault and adopted its present name, albeit Samsung maintained a minority ownership. RSM markets a range of cars, including electrical models and crossovers.
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Beginnings: Samsung Group era (1994–2000) Edit
In the early 1990s, Samsung’s Chairman Kun Hee Lee recognised the automotive industry as the culmination of several others. For the Samsung Group, this would permit to leverage resources and technologies from the entire group including Samsung Electrics and Samsung Electronics. [6] He primarily attempted to take control of Kia, but competition from other bidders and legal limitations made him to drop the idea. Kia was eventually purchased by Hyundai. [7]
Lee determined to create a fresh carmaker, Samsung Motors (also known as SMI) [8] and a truck manufacturer, Samsung Commercial Vehicles Co., Ltd. (Hangul: 삼성상용차 주식회사 ; RR: Samseong Sangyongcha Jusikoesa ), the latter through Samsung Powerful Industries with Nissan Diesel’s support. [9] [Ten] SMI was established in one thousand nine hundred ninety four (incorporated in 1995) [8] and Daegu-based Samsung Commercial Vehicles in 1996. [Ten] [11] [12] Shortly after SMI began its operations, the Asian financial crisis hit. [8] [13] Samsung divested itself of SMI as well as other non-core subsidiaries. [14] SMI was put up for sale, with Daewoo Motors being one of the very first interested companies, [7] [15] but, as the crisis deepened, Daewoo Motors itself was bought by GM. [16] Hyundai Motors was also considered as a possible buyer, but corporate politics and strife inbetween the Samsung Group and the Hyundai Group made this unlikely. Negotiations with Renault embarked in December 1998, and in September two thousand the French automaker bought a 70% stake for $560 million. [13] [17] Samsung Commercial Vehicles was kept by Samsung, but eventually it filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2000. [12] [14]
Coupled with his interest on cars, Lee’s project of building SMI as a global automotive company embarked out with technical assistance from Nissan, [15] a company which at the time of SMI’s early stages was in dire financial straits. SMI’s affiliation with Nissan could have been one of the reasons for Renault buying a major share of the company, as Renault had become a major shareholder of Nissan by then. One of the very early planners for SMI has stated that technical affiliations for SMI were primarily considered with Volkswagen, BMW or Honda. [Legitimate] From 1998, Renault Samsung Motors sold cars in Chile with the introduction of the SQ5 (the current SM5). [Nineteen]
Later developments: Renault era (2000–present) Edit
Product and market expansion (2000–2010) Edit
After the two thousand acquisition, Renault renamed Samsung Motors as Renault Samsung Motors (RSM). [20] That year, the company’s sales began to improve. Journalists attribute this to the success of the very first car manufactured at Busan in taxi fleets (the SM5), which led to enhanced confidence of the model within the rest of their customer base. [13] [21] During the following years, the company introduced a fresh vehicle range, including the SM3 in 2002, the SM7 in two thousand four and the crossover QM5 in 2007. Over time, RSM switched its products from a Nissan-based architecture to a Renault-based one. [20] As part of the Renault group, Renault Samsung basically became an export-oriented manufacturer. [21] Despite not being exported under their own brand, Renault Samsung-manufactured vehicles have over the time been rebadged as Renault or Nissan, and sold in markets such as Europe (QM5 and SM5), [22] Russia, [23] Ukraine, [23] Mexico, [24] Egypt, [24] Central and South America, the Middle East (SM3 and SM5), [25] China (SM7), [26] Australia (QM5), [27] or the United States and Canada (the Rogue). [28]
In 2005, Renault enhanced its stake by acquiring an extra 10% share from the company’s creditors. [29] [30] On twenty six June 2009, Renault and Samsung agreed to renew the right of the former to use the “Samsung” trade mark on its products until 2020. [31] [32]
Decline in sales, electrical vehicles and recovery attempts (2010–present) Edit
The pressure from both Hyundai and Kia, superior automakers in the South Korean market, enhanced during the 2010s, pushing RSM sales down by 27% in 2011. In the very first half of 2012, they fell 41%. [33] In August 2012, a personnel reduction of about 80% of employees was introduced by management. [34] Eventually, Renault diminished its Busan personnel by 15% (about eight hundred employees). With the aim of reviving the company, it invested (together with Nissan) US$160 million to make Nissan Rogues for export in order to improve the production output [35] and also introduced revised versions of the SM3 and SM5. [33] [36] During 2013, the company commenced to market a fresh compact crossover, the QM3, based on the Captur. [37] [38] By late 2015, its cumulative sales since two thousand in the South Korean market reached 1.Five million units. [39] In 2016, Renault Samsung introduced the SM6, a fresh mid-size model which is a Talisman with some minor switches for the South Korean market. [40]
In 2012, RSM introduced an electrified version of its SM3 car known as the SM3 Z.E., imported from Turkey. In October two thousand thirteen the car began to be assembled at the Busan plant [41] and in the same year it became the leading electrified vehicle by sales in South Korea with a 58% market share. [42] In 2016, RSM also announced its intention to market the Twizy. [43] In May 2016, the company announced a project to develop and produce a 1-tonne electrical light commercial vehicle with a 250-kilometre range on a single charge in partnership with local companies. [44]
As of two thousand thirteen [update] , Chile was the only country outside South Korea that RSM has sold its cars under the Renault Samsung Motors marque and not as rebadged Renaults. [45] In 2015, Renault Samsung badging was substituted entirely by Renault in Chile, [46] with the vehicles themselves now being known under their global Renault names (e.g. the Renault Samsung SM5 is now the Renault Latitude).
Manufacturing Edit
The car manufacturing plant is located at Busan in the Sinho Regional Industrial Site and began production in 1998. [47] It covers 1,650,000 m two [48] and has the capacity to manufacture 300,000 cars per year. It can produce various models at the same time in a single production line. [49] The plant is divided into seven production shops (stamping, figure, painting, bumper, assembly, al-casting and engine). [48]
Research and development Edit
The Renault Samsung Technical Centre (Hangul: 르노삼성 중앙연구소 ; RR: Reuno Samseong Jungang Yeonguso ) located at Giheung near Seoul, is one of the largest research and development facilities of Renault after Guyancourt’s Technocentre. [49] It was established in one thousand nine hundred ninety seven as the Samsung Motors Technical Centre, [50] being expanded in two thousand and adopting its current name. [50] [51] At very first it was only involved in car engineering, but at the end of two thousand two the RSM Design Centre (Hangul: 르노삼성자 디자인센터 ; RR: Reuno Samseongja Dijain Senteo ) was created within the facility to locally design various cars manufactured by the company. [50] [52] In early two thousand thirteen the design branch was renamed Renault Design Asia (Hangul: 르노 디자인 아시아 ; RR: Reuno Dijain Asia ) and was put in charge of supervising Renault’s Asian design operations. [53]
Administration Edit
The RSM’s head offices are located at Gasan-dong, [54] Seoul, with extra administrative offices in Busan. [49]