Renault Samsung Motors (Korean: 르노삼성자동차, IPA: [ɾɯnoː samsʌŋ tɕadoŋtɕʰa]) is a South Korean automobile manufacturer headquartered in Busan. It was first established as Samsung Motors in 1994 by the chaebol Samsung and started selling cars in 1998, just before South Korea was hit by the Asian financial crisis. Since September 2000, it has been a subsidiary of Renault, although Samsung maintains a minority ownership.

Founded	1994
Headquarters	Busan, South Korea
Key people	François Provost (Chairman)
Owner(s)	Renault (80% ) Samsung Electronics (20% )
Parent	Renault
Website	renaultsamsungm.com

History

Renault Samsung Motors Busan Plant

In the early 1990s Samsung's Chairman Kun Hee Lee recognized the automobile industry as the culmination of several other industries. For the Samsung group this would allow to leverage resources and technologies from the entire group including Samsung Electrics and Samsung Electronics. He initially tried to take control of Kia, but competition from other bidders and legal restrictions made him to drop the idea. The carmaker was eventually purchased by Hyundai.
Lee decided to create a new carmaker, Samsung Motors (also known as SMI) and a truck manufacturer, Samsung Commercial Vehicles Co., Ltd. (Hangul: 삼성상용차 주식회사; RR: Samseong Sangyongcha Jusikoesa), the latter through Samsung Heavy Industries with Nissan Diesel's support. SMI was established in 1994 and Daegu-based Samsung Commercial Vehicles in 1996. Unfortunately for Samsung shortly after SMI started its operations the Asian financial crisis hit. Samsung divested itself of SMI as well as other non-core subsidiaries. SMI was put up for sale, with Daewoo Motors being one of the first interested companies but as the crisis deepened was itself bought by GM. Hyundai Motors was also considered as a possible buyer, but corporate politics and strife between the Samsung Group and the Hyundai Group made this impossible. Negotiations with Renault started in December 1998 and in September 2000 the French automaker bought a 70% stake for $560 million.
Samsung Commercial Vehicles was kept by Samsung, but finally it filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2000.

A Nissan Cefiro S Touring, which formed the base for an older version of the SM5

Coupled with his personal affection for cars, Lee's dream of building SMI as a global force started out with technical assistance from Nissan, 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 initially considered with Volkswagen, BMW or Honda. However, its financial situation had forced Nissan to disclose its technology and engineering expertise to SMI. Also, Nissan has supplied SMI with its engines, one of them being Nissan's famed V6 engines the VQ23DE, currently replaced by the VQ35DE.
Since 1998 Renault Samsung Motors has been selling cars in Chile when the company introduced the SQ5 (the current SM5). As of 2013, Chile is the only country that RSM sold some of its cars under the Renault Samsung Motors' marque and not as rebadged Renaults.

Present

Today, Renault Samsung Motors (RSM) maintains a good position within the Korean automotive market, with its SM5 vehicle continuing to hold its ground against competitors. Also, RSM is in the phase of changing its products from a Nissan based architecture to a Renault based one. For example, the latest SM3 shares its architecture with the Renault Fluence, its predecessor was based on the Nissan Sylphy. Also, according to the development trend of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, gasoline engines will be continued to be provided by Nissan, whereas diesel engines will be provided by Renault. In addition, QM5 (a cross over vehicle; code name: H45) was co-developed with Nissan (who is also using the QM5 as the basis for its next Xtrail, code name P32M). It is being sold in Korea, Europe, China, Mexico and South America, and more new vehicles are planned in the future. This will increase the current company production capacity of 125,000~130,000 units to around 250,000, as much of the increased production will target BRICs countries such as China, Russia, and also parts of Europe.
As Renault does not have any R&D centers and has only a few factories in Asia, RSM will spearhead the Renault's expansion efforts into the rapidly developing Asian market. Also, Renault is continuing the use of 'Samsung' name until 2020 under a license agreement with the Samsung group.

Decline in sales

The pressure from Hyundai and Kia, dominant automakers in the Korean market, increased during the 2010s, pushing RSM sales down by 27% in 2011. In the first half of 2012, they fell 41%. In view of this, Renault reduced its Busan personnel by 15% (about 800 employees). With the aim of reviving the company, it will invest (together with Nissan) US$160 million to make Nissan cars for export in order to improve the production output and also presented revised versions of the SM3 and the SM5. During 2013 it will introduce a new compact crossover, the QM3, based on the Captur.

Facilities

Manufacturing

The car manufacturing plant is located at Busan in the Sinho Regional Industrial Site and begun production in 1998. It covers 1,650,000 m² and has capacity to manufacture 300,000 cars per year. It can produce various models simultaneously in a single production line.
The plant is divided into seven production shops (stamping, body, painting, bumper, assembly, al-casting and engine).

Research and development

The Renault Samsung Technical Center (Hangul: 르노삼성 중앙연구소; RR: Reuno Samseong Jungang Yeonguso) is located at Giheung near Seoul, and is one of the largest research and development facilities of Renault after Guyancourt's Technocentre. It was established in 1997 as the Samsung Motors Technical Center, being expanded in 2000 and adopting its current name. At first it was only involved with car engineering, but at the end of 2002 was created the RSM Design Center (Hangul: 르노삼성자 디자인센터; RR: Reuno Samseongja Dijain Senteo) within the facility to design locally the cars manufactured by the company. In early 2013 the design branch was renamed Renault Design Asia (Hangul: 르노 디자인 아시아; RR: Reuno Dijain Asia) and it was put in charge of supervising the Renault's Asian design operations.

Administration

The RSM's head offices are located at Gasan-dong, Seoul. There also are administrative offices in Busan.

Branding

The logo of Samsung, which serves as the basis for the corporate logo of Renault Samsung Motors

Logos

Renault Samsung Motors has two logos, the corporate logo and the marque logo. The first is for corporate communications and is an adaptation of the Samsung Group's logo. The second is the "storm's eye" logo which is used as marque's badge and in advertising. Its shape symbolises the meeting between clients and automobiles, while its symmetry reflects stability and confidence.

Slogan

The advertising slogan of Renault Samsung Motors is Discover the Difference (Hangul: 디스커버 더 디퍼런스; RR: Diseukeobeo Deo Dipeoreonseu) and was introduced in 2009. According to the company, it makes reference to the distinct quality of its products.

Car nomenclature

The company includes in its vehicles' designations numbers related to their sizes. Currently those numbers are 3, meaning compact or small vehicle, 5, mid-size vehicle, and 7, large vehicle. The designations also include the letters S and M, which stands for Samsung Motors and Samsung Motor Sedan. However, the sport utility vehicles replace the SM combination by QM (Quest Motoring).

Solar energy project

In March 2013, Renault Samsung Motors completed the installation of solar panels in the parking lots, rooftops and surrounding land of its Busan facility to create a 20-MW solar plant, one of the largest in the world. The project was carried out through a joint venture, Busan Shinho Solar Power SPC (Hangul: 부산신호태양광 특수목적법인; RR: Busan Sinho Taeyang-gwang Teugsumogjeogbeob-in), formed by RSM, Korea East-West Power and KC Cottrell, which also manages the plant. It provides energy to the RSM operations and nearby houses.

Shareholders

Renault Samsung Motors is majority owned by Renault with a 80.1% share. Samsung Card has a 19.9% share of the company.

Model lineup

Third generation SM5 (L43)

• SM3 (compact four-door car based on the Renault Fluence)
• SM5 (mid-size four-door car also marketed as the Renault Latitude and Renault Safrane, based on the Renault Laguna III)
• SM7 (large four-door car sold as Renault Talisman in China)
• QM5 (the first crossover from Renault Samsung based on the Nissan X-Trail, also marketed as the Renault Koleos)

List of Renault Samsung Motor car models

Category	Models
Current models	SM3 (N17, L38), SM5 (L43), SM7 (L47), QM5
Historic models	SM5 (KPQ, A34R), SM7

Sales

Model	Renault Samsung SM3	Renault Samsung SM5	Renault Samsung SM7	Renault Samsung QM5	Total
1998**		41,593*			41,593
1999**		6,362*			6,362
2000**		26,862			26,862
2001		70,788			70,788
2002≠	16,016	100,777			117,085
2003≠	29,878	80,371			111,431
2004	19,411	55,000	6,295		80,906
2005	30,091	63,374	25,089		118,554
2006	71,817	71,675	17,807		161,299
2007	29,448	73,346	14,233	2,518	119,545
2008	21,362	55,932	15,358	11,832	104,484
2009	48,340	61,319	18,319	8,487	136,465
2010	64,779	78,107	13,550	5,481	161,917
2011	42,910	50,408	17,199	7,618	118,135
2012	22,793	32,699	5,263	4,936	65,691

** Only South Korean market.

* Samsung SQ5/SM5.

≠ For these years the models' number of sales only include the South Korean domestic market. The total includes both the domestic and the international market.

Last updated on 30 August 2013 at 02:16.

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SsangYong Motor Company or SsangYong Motor (Korean: 쌍용자동차, IPA: [s͈aŋjoŋ tɕadoŋtɕʰa]) is the fourth largest South Korea-basedautomobile manufacturer. The name SsangYong means double dragons.
A 70% share of SsangYong was acquired by Indian Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, in February 2011, after being named the preferred bidder in 2010 to acquire the bankruptcy-protected company. Mahindra's acquisition was approved by South Korea's Free Trade Commission.

Founded	4 March 1954
Headquarters	Seoul, South Korea
Area served	Worldwide (except North America)
Key people	Lee Yoo-il, CEO
Parent	Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
Website	smotor.com

SsangYong Motor Company
Hangul	쌍용자동차 주식회사
Hanja	雙龍自動車 株式會社
Revised Romanization	Ssangyong Jadongcha Jusikhoesa
McCune-Reischauer	Ssangyong Chadongch'a Chusikhoesa

History

A previous logo of SsangYong Motor Company

SsangYong originally started out as two separate companies; Ha Dong-hwan Motor Workshop (established in 1954) and Dongbang Motor Co (established in 1962). In mid-1963, the two companies merged into Ha Dong-hwan Motor Co.
In 1964, Hadonghwan Motor Company started building jeeps for the US Army as well as trucks and buses. Beginning in 1976, Hadonghwan produced a variety of special purpose vehicles. After changing its name to Dong-A Motor in 1977, it was taken over by Ssangyong Business Group in 1986 and changed its name to SsangYong Motor. In 1987, it acquired United Kingdom-based specialty car maker Panther Westwinds.

The Musso was a result of collaboration between SsangYong and Daimler-Benz

In 1991 it started a technology partnership with Daimler-Benz. The deal was for SsangYong to develop an SUV with Mercedes-Benz technology. This was supposedly to allow SsangYong to gain footholds in new markets without having to build their own infrastructure (utilizing existing Mercedes-Benz networks) while giving Mercedes a competitor in the then-booming SUV market. This resulted in the SsangYong Musso, which was sold first by Mercedes-Benz and later by SsangYong.
SsangYong further benefited from this alliance, long after Daimler-Benz stopped selling the Musso, producing a badge engineered version of the Mercedes-Benz MB100, the Istana and using Daimler designs in many other models, including the second-generation Korando (engine and transmission), the Rexton (transmission), the Chairman H (chassis and transmission) and the Kyron (transmission).
In 1997, Daewoo Motors, now Tata Daewoo, bought a controlling stake from the Ssangyong Group, only to sell it off again in 2000, because the conglomerate ran into deep financial troubles. In late 2004, the Chinese automobile manufacturer SAIC took a 51% stake of SsangYong Motor Company.

SsangYong's hybrid technology

In January 2009, after recording a $75.42 million loss, the company was put into receivership. This may have been due to the global economic crisisand shrinking demand. On August 14, 2009, worker strikes finished at the SsangYong factory and production commenced again after 77 days of disruption. Company employees and analysts have also blamed SAIC for stealing technology related to hybrid vehicles from the company and failing to live up to its promise of continued investment. SAIC denied allegations of technology theft by the company's employees. However,SAIC was charged by the South Korean prosecutor's office for violating company regulations and the South Korean law when it ordered and carried out the transfer of Ssangyong's proprietary technology developed with South Korean government funding over to SAIC researchers.
In 2010, Daewoo Motor Sales was dropped by General Motors. The long-time dealership partner then signed a deal with the SsangYong Motor Company to supply new vehicles to sell (specifically the Rodius, Chairman W and Chairman H), in return for the injection of ₩20 billion ($17.6 million) into the car maker still recovering from bankruptcy. The deal is non-exclusive, meaning SsangYong will also sell vehicles through private dealers.
In April 2010, the company released a statement citing interest of three to four local and foreign companies in acquiring SsangYong Motor Company, resulting in shares rising by 15%. The companies were later revealed to be Mahindra & Mahindra Limited and the Ruia Group of India and SM Aluminum, Seoul Investments and French-owned Renault Samsung of South Korea. In August 2010, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited was chosen as the preferred bidder for SsangYong. The acquisition was completed in February 2011 and cost Mahindra 522.5 Billion Won.

Factories

• South Korea (Pyeongtaek). Main factory. Produces a complete range.
• Russia (Vladivostok) .Russian company Sollers JSC manufactured SsangYong Korando as New Actyon ,Kyron ,Rexton II ,Actyon Sorts and its upgraded version SUT1.
• Ukraine (Kremenchuk) .Kremenchuk Сar Assembly Plant (KrASZ) manufactured Korando ,Kyron ,Rexton II.

Model lineup

Name	Production	Notes	Image
SUVs
Korando	2010–present
Actyon	2006–present	Replaced the old Korando
Rexton II	2006–present	Replaced the Rexton
Kyron	2005–present
Rexton	2001–2005	Replaced the Musso and was replaced by the Rexton II
Musso	1993–2005	Replaced by the Kyron
Korando	1983–2006, 2010–present	Replaced by the Actyon, revived in late 2010
Family	1988–1995	Based on the Isuzu Trooper
Pickup trucks
Actyon Sports	2006–present	Replaced the Musso Sports; also known as Korando Sports from 2012
Musso Sports	2002–2005	Replaced by the Actyon Sports
Vans
Rodius/Stavic	2004–present
Istana	1995–2003	Licensed copy of the Mercedes-Benz MB100
Luxury cars
Chairman W	2008–present	Sold alongside the Chairman H
Chairman H	1997–present	Based on the Mercedes-Benz W124
SsangYong Kallista	1992	Rebadged Panther Kallista
Trucks and Buses
SY Truck		Based on Mercedes-Benz trucks
Transtar		Based on Mercedes-Benz buses

List of SsangYong car models

Category	Models
Current models	C200, Chairman, Korando, New Actyon, Rexton
Historic models	Actyon, Actyon Sports, Family, Kallista, MJ Musso, Musso Sports, Musso Libero Kyron, Rodius Sports, Stavic Tradie
Commercial vehicles	Istana, SY Truck, Transtar
Concept cars	Amao, C200, C.E.O, CCR-1, Chairman Limousine, Crossut, CRS, Entertain, Hemos, Istana Camera Van, KEV2, Korando Camping Car, Korando FRP Hardtop, La-Okean, Rodius Limo, Solo 3, Solo Le Mans, SUT 1, SV-R, W-Coupe, WZ, XCT, XMT

Last updated on 2 September 2013 at 10:41.

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