Renault Samsung Motors, which is an 80.1 per cent-owned subsidiary of Renault, has been marketing New SM5 in Korea since January 2010. This status-enhancing, three-volume family saloon, which was designed in Seoul and is manufactured at the firm’s Busan plant in South Korea, carries over the same acclaimed values that sere championed by its predecessor for more than 10 years, namely product and service quality, elegant, refined styling, and a particularly attractive performance and equipment package.
Some 40,000 cars have been sold since the beginning of thOK, alors e year, which easily surpasses the original objective. The average daily rate is 700 sales, and a record 2,012 orders were taken during one particular single day. New SM5 has already reached 66 per cent of the volumes achieved by its predecessor for all of 2009, which itself was an historically successful year for the brand.
In the Land of the Morning Calm, social standing and wellbeing are key factors when it comes to motor cars. In addition to its generous exterior dimensions (length: 4.89m / width: 1.83m / height:1.49m), New SM5 features elegant, stylish looks highlighted by several chrome trim details. At the same time, its equipment package – which is worthy of models from superior segments – places the emphasis very much on innovation and includes a dual-mode air ionizer with fragrance diffuser (a first in Korea), three-mode automatic climate control (a first for the segment in the country), a massaging driver’s seat, Bose Premium audio, a hands-free card, and adaptive, directional bi-Xenon headlamps.
It is initially available with the Alliance’s two-litre petrol engine, driving through the remarkably smooth Xtronic transmission. A petrol V6 and, of course, a choice of dCi diesel powerplants will become available at a later date.
New SM5’s precise, responsive front suspension benefits from Renault’s extensive engineering expertise. This, combined with other features developed in association with Nissan, delivers a standard of comfort and a silent ride that promise to give the newcomer a decisive edge over its rivals.
Since its launch in Korea in 1998, the SM5 has enjoyed sales of more than 500,000 units and, following styling changes in 2003 and 2008, has since been introduced in the Gulf States and Mexico with Renault badging.
Designed to appeal to Korea’s upper middle classes, New SM5 is expected to continue the success of its predecessor, the second most popular model in its segment. In 2009, which was a
record year for Renault Samsung Motors in Korea, SM5 sales totalled 60,960, almost half the number produced by the brand. Since going on sale last January, New SM5 has significantly
exceeded sales targets and some 40,000 orders have already been taken. With average orders as high as 700 sales every day, it looks as though initial objectives will be surpassed. On the day of New SM5’s release (January 18), exactly 2,012 orders were taken in a single day, while 14,000 pre-launch advance orders were received.
The new version marks a further step towards Renault Samsung Motors’ independence with regard to product development. Following on initial groundwork by Renault, the Renault Samsung Technical Center (RSTC) in Giheung, which is close to the Design Centre in Seoul, took over the project. From the development of New SM5 to its production, including validation testing and finetuning, the teams at Renault Samsung Motors took their lead from the know how of Renault and Nissan. The exchanges between the firms began at an even earlier stage than was the case for New SM3, a move that proved beneficial to all the parties involved.
Renault Samsung Motors has topped the Korean market for quality for eight consecutive years.Indeed, design and build quality are an intrinsic part of the company’s culture, while service quality at the point of sale and throughout the vehicle’s lifetime is considered primordial.
Photos are available on the following websites:
www.media.renault.com, www.renaultsamsungm.com and www.new-sm5.com
Media contacts:
– Product: B. Moreau, bruno.moreau@renault.com, +33 (0)1 76 84 36 40
– Corporate: V. David, valerian.david@ renault.com, +33 (0)1 76 84 68 03
