Renault Samsung Motors

Renault Samsung Motors was the name of the South Korean carmaker now called Renault Korea, headquartered in Busan, where its single assembly site stands. It began in 1994 as Samsung Motors, created by the Samsung chaebol with technical assistance from Nissan, and started selling cars in 1998, just before the East Asian financial crisis. Samsung divested it in the crisis, and in September 2000 Renault bought a 70 percent stake for 560 million US dollars, renaming it Renault Samsung Motors. The company took Renault Korea Motors as its trade name in March 2022 and as its legal name in August 2022, after the Samsung trademark licence lapsed, and became Renault Korea in April 2024. In December 2022 Geely acquired a minority stake, although Renault remains the majority owner.