December 04, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Renault Samsung Motors, the Korean unit of the French carmaker, on Nov. 23 introduced the new full-electric vehicle, SM3 Z.E., as part of its strategy to tap into the new market of green cars here. 

The presentation was made by the group‘s Senior Vice President Gilles Normand at Daegu International Future Auto Expo held for four days from Nov. 22 at Daegu EXPO.

 

Renault Samsung Motor's new electric vehicle sedan model SM3 Z.E.

As Korea’s only sub mid-sized EV sedan, SM3 Z.E. represents the most luxurious model among all EVs sold by Renault, incorporating leading EV technologies, according to company officials.

The company added that due to the outstanding autonomy and spacious interior space, the new vehicle is likely to appeal not only to personal passengers but also to government demands. Some 1,200 units of the model were purchased by the Ministry of Health and Welfare this April for public use and also a considerable number are to be operated as EV taxis in Seoul, Daegu and Jeju Island.

The new SM3 Z.E. has increased its autonomy by 57 percent from the previous model, to 213 kilometers, which is the longest record in the EV segment. Given the average daily autonomy of 40 kilometers as tallied by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority in 2016, the new SM3 Z.E. can run for about five days upon a single charge.

The battery has also been improved by 63 percent for a total output of 35.9 kilowatt per hour without any increase in weight.

Even with such improvements, the price of the new model will be maintained at its current 30 million won level, officials said. The price of the SM3 Z.E. by trim is 39.5 million for the lower SE model and 41.5 million for the luxury RE trim, VAT included.

By Cho Chung-un/The Korea Herald (christory@heraldcorp.com)