Renault Chairman: "Korea to Develop as Export Hub for Mid-to-Large Vehicles"... 1.2 Trillion Won Investment Over 6 Years

Luca de Meo, Chairman of French Renault Group, First Visit to Korea
Hybrid Models to be Released Successively in Two and Three Years

Luca de Meo, Chairman of Renault Group, is making an announcement at the press conference held on the 11th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Luca de Meo, Chairman of Renault Group, once again expressed his intention to develop the Korean business site into an export hub for mid-to-large vehicles. He also presented a plan to fully leverage Korea's various technological advantages and closely link Renault's global business sites.

At a press conference held on the 11th, Chairman de Meo said, "We intend to make Korea (business site) a new export hub for mid-to-large vehicles," adding, "If conditions permit, we will invest hundreds of millions of euros in Korea over the next six years."

This was Chairman de Meo's first visit to Korea. Although he did not specify the exact investment amount at the conference, Renault headquarters issued a press release on the same day announcing that Renault Korea plans to invest more than 900 million euros (approximately 1.25 trillion KRW) in the future.

Regarding the conditions that need to be met, he added that various aspects must be prepared, such as the joint venture with Geely, a major shareholder of Renault Korea Motors and a collaborator in the vehicle development process, operating as planned.

Luca de Meo, Chairman of Renault Group (left), and St?phane Deblaise, President of Renault Korea, are answering questions at a meeting on the 11th.

Renault, headquartered in France, is relatively strong in developing and producing small vehicles that are in high demand in Europe. Renault Korea Motors' Busan plant has experience producing many mid-to-large vehicles since the past. The Korean business site of Renault is capable of the entire automobile manufacturing process, from early-stage research and development of new cars to complete vehicle production. Among Renault's global network, few places have as much infrastructure as Renault Korea.

Chairman de Meo anticipated that through collaboration centered on Renault Korea with various technology companies in Korea, they would be able to showcase core competencies to Renault Group's global business sites. He said, "Seoul has world-class software and battery engineers and is known as a foothold for securing metaverse technology," adding, "Korea can be a core technology hub market."

Earlier, Renault Group and Geely Motors decided to develop and launch a joint venture model targeting the Korean market. The eco-friendly new car jointly developed by the two companies is scheduled to be produced at Renault Korea's Busan plant in 2024. It is a mid-sized hybrid vehicle based on the platform of Volvo, in which Geely holds shares, and designed by Renault Korea. Along with this, a concept video of a coupe-type sports utility vehicle (SUV) to be released in 2025 was also unveiled at the conference.

Luca de Meo, Chairman of Renault Group, speaking at the press conference held on the 11th

Chairman de Meo said, "What is certain is that a new chapter is opening for Renault Korea and a new platform is coming in," adding, "The product lifecycle is entering a low phase, so a few months might be tough, but I believe the coming years will be much better for Renault Korea than the past few years."

Regarding the increasing trade barriers between the U.S. and China and the emphasis on domestic investment mainly in developed countries, he said, "It seems like a risky trend." He also emphasized that Korea's export competitiveness, due to free trade agreements (FTAs) with major countries worldwide, will be fully utilized.

He stressed that while advancing electrification strategies, they are steadily pursuing cooperation with various companies to refine existing internal combustion engine technologies. He said, "We believe that internal combustion engines, such as hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and alternative fuels, still have a future," adding, "To create synergy and reduce costs, a certain scale must be achieved, so we are looking for various partners."

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