Renault sells 34% of its subsidiary Renault Korea to Geely
- A few months after the announcement of cooperation between the Renault group and the Geely group, the French manufacturer sold to the Chinese manufacturer 34% of the capital of its Korean subsidiary Renault Korea (formerly Renault Samsung) which produces the Koléos and the Arkana for the European market, but also specific models for the Korean market (SM6, QM6, XM3).
- For several years, the Korean subsidiary of Renault has been experiencing difficulties. The production volume of the Busan plant has increased from 275,000 vehicles in 2010 to 150,000 in 2012 and 100,000 in 2019, for capacities set at 300,000 units per year.
- The reason for this fall in production can be explained by the difficulties of Renault Samsung and then Renault Korea in developing on the Korean market, in the face of the powerful Hyundai-Kia group, the cessation of its exports to China and the weakness of its exports to Europe (Koléos, Arkana) even if the Arkana has allowed a modest recovery in 2021, this model today representing a quarter of the production of the Busan plant.
- For Renault, the fact that the Busan plant is only operating at less than half of its capacity questions its viability. With the help of Geely, the French manufacturer believes it can redirect Renault Korea's activity towards models better suited to the Korean and Chinese market, since the future vehicles produced in the Busan plant which will be designed by Geely and launched in 2024 -2025 will be intended for the domestic market and for export, particularly to China.
- The Renault group sold 2.7 million vehicles worldwide in 2021 and the Geely group 2.2 million.
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