French carmaker Renault unveiled plans on Thursday to expand its South Korean unit, including a rapid increase in exports from next year and developing a sport utility vehicle by late 2007.
Renault President Carlos Ghosn, also the head of the French firm's Japanese alliance partner Nissan Motor Co, told a news conference Renault Samsung Motors Inc (RSM) aimed to sell 30,000 units of its small-sized SM3 in 2006 through Nissan. He said the SM3 cars would mostly be sold in markets such as Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East and Latin America where Nissan has an established sales network.
"We decided that SM3 will be exported through Nissan's network," Ghosn said. "Exports will be a new step in RSM's development. It will begin with SM3, which will be exported under the Nissan badge to various global markets."
The South Korean unit produces two more models, but in a statement it gave no total export target figures. But the 30,000 target alone represents a big jump from this year's total export projection of 3,500.
The former Samsung Group unit, acquired by Renault in 2000, currently sells 97 percent of its cars on the domestic market and aims to sell a total of 105,000 units in 2005.
The new target will mean the company boosts by a quarter annual production at its sole plant in South Korea's second city of Pusan.