Renault Samsung, South Korea Team Up for EV Tests

Renault Samsung produces five SM3 electric vehicles for use in the Korean government’s smart-grid test bed on Cheju Island, where the auto maker’s production facilities are located.

“We have joined the SK Innovation consortium (with SK Energy) and will use the vehicles in developing and testing recharge stations and vehicle technologies to substantially reduce hydrocarbon emissions,” a Renault Samsung spokesman tells WardsAuto.

Renault Samsung EVs tested by South Korea.

The auto maker will provide the consortium with another five SM3s in 2012. It also will supply a mass-production version of the EV for use in a government fleet-testing program.

“We will have support from the government to begin producing 100 mass-production SM3 EVs by the end of this year for testing in their fleets,” the spokesman says.

The test vehicles being used by the SK Innovation project on Cheju Island are identical to the mass-production EVs, the spokesman notes.

The SM3’s 70-kW electric motor is powered by a 24-kW lithium-ion battery that produces a top speed of 93 mph (150 km/h). It has a single-charge range of 100 miles (161 km).

Renault Samsung is evaluating batteries produced by Korean chemical companies but has not selected a supplier for the mass-production version.

According to the Korea Smart Grid Institute, the smart-grid test bed on Cheju Island is the world’s largest.

Five different consortiums on the semi-tropical island in the East China Sea are developing alternate energy systems including wind power and electric vehicles and EV infrastructure.