'Market Share 12%' Renault, SsangYong, Chevrolet Aim for Sales Rebound with New Cars This Year

Ssangyong Motor's First Electric Vehicle Korando E-Motion

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Renault Samsung Motors, Ssangyong Motor, and Korea GM, the three domestic automakers that suffered sluggish domestic sales last year with only 12%, plan to rebound their performance this year by launching new cars.

According to the industry on the 16th, the domestic sales volume of Renault Samsung Motors, Ssangyong Motor, and Korea GM last year were 61,096 units, 56,363 units, and 52,492 units respectively. This accounts for 12.0% of the total sales of 1,433,605 units by the five automakers including Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors last year.

Until 2017, the combined market share of Renault Samsung Motors, Ssangyong Motor, and Korea GM exceeded 20%, but it has steadily declined every year, and last year they were overtaken in ranking by imported car brands such as Mercedes-Benz (76,152 units) and BMW (65,669 units).

These three companies plan to actively launch new cars this year to recover their market share. Ssangyong Motor, which recently signed a main M&A contract with the Edison Motors consortium, plans to introduce new cars and facelift models such as the pickup truck 'New Rexton Sports & Khan', the electric vehicle Korando e-Motion, and the mid-size sports utility vehicle (SUV) J100 (project name).

The New Rexton Sports & Khan, released on the 4th, combines a 2.2 LET diesel engine with an Aisin 6-speed automatic transmission, delivering 202 horsepower and a maximum torque of 45.0 kg.m, which are improvements of 8% and 5% respectively compared to the previous model. It is also equipped with 16 driving safety assistance systems (ADAS) and meets the Euro 6D Step 2 emission regulations. Pre-orders for the Korando e-Motion began on the 11th.

The J100, whose design was unveiled last June, is in the final stages of development aiming for release as early as July this year. The J100 is planned to be a traditional SUV embodying the toughness of the Musso, which was discontinued in 2005, combined with a futuristic outlook, attracting industry attention. Ssangyong Motor is also preparing an electric vehicle model of the J100 called the U100.

Chevrolet Tahoe

Korea GM also plans to introduce the 2022 model year Bolt EV and Bolt EUV this year. In addition, pre-orders for the Chevrolet Tahoe, the best-selling large SUV in the U.S. and Chevrolet's flagship SUV, began on the 12th. The price of the Tahoe is set at 92.53 million KRW, and the Dark Night Special Edition is priced at 93.63 million KRW. Furthermore, the full-size pickup truck GMC Sierra will be introduced to the domestic market this year.

Renault Samsung Motors plans to launch the hybrid model of the XM3 (export name Arkana), which was the top contributor to increasing exports by 254.3% compared to the previous year, domestically this year. The XM3 hybrid has been exported to Europe since the second half of last year.

The XM3 hybrid received the highest score in the comprehensive evaluation of hybrid models by Teknikens V?rld, a leading Swedish automotive magazine, and has continued to receive favorable reviews, including being selected as Sweden's Car of the Year 2022.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.