The most popular electric vehicle in South Korea is… the Renault Samsung SM3 ZE (alternately known as the Fluence ZE), according to recent reports.
The electric sedan has, to date, sold decently (good for the market, though perhaps not notably) — with more than 1767 units sold since the launch back in November 2013. Sales during 2015 were up a fair bit though, with 1043 units sold during the year.
Those numbers may not sound all that inspiring, but as far as electric vehicle (EV) sales in South Korea go, they’re pretty good. As it stands, roughly 1 out of every 3 EVs in the country is a Renault Samsung SM3 ZE.
Green Car Congress provides more:
RSM has reinforced its after-sales network by placing EV pilots in 16 cities, expanding EV after-sales centers to 226 locations and additionally establishing a battery repair center in Jeju Island. In Korea, incentives to buy an EV include an average 20 million KRW (US$16,600) subsidy (depending on the region), one free charger, as well as reduced parking costs & congestion charge.
The only mid-sized EV in Korea, RSM SM3 ZE has a single-charge range of up to 135 km (84 miles). In 2015, SM3 ZE was selected as both Korea’s official government vehicle and Seoul EV taxi. This year, RSM has provided more than 100 EV taxis (including 60 for Seoul city), introduced a taxi battery management service in Jeju, and is setting up additional mid-speed chargers near taxi garages and drivers’ cafeterias. SM3 ZE is manufactured in RSM’s Busan plant.
Considering that Hyundai is now (seemingly) beginning to take the EV sector seriously — and has the IONIQ hitting the market soon — one wonders if the SM3 ZE will be able to hold onto the top position for long.
There are 1200 Renault Fluence ze in Israel and most of the owners are surging good source for new battery. these cars are basically the same as the SM3 and we hope that it will be able to buy the SM3 battery and import it to Israel. All the cars that need new battery are in good condition (like new) and it will be a shame to throw them to the scrapyard just because of the batteries. I thing that it should be the interest of Renault to lunch this program and prove once again their commitment to the Z.E. concept.
The problem is that Renault in its actions proves that the company is not committed to its clients who buy an ev from Renault. They actually told me that 3 years service of a battery pack is normal. They refuse to do a recall. This week they called me to suggest I do a trade in for a Romanian Dacia! Anything is good just not recall for faulty first generation batteries that are still under warranty.