Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Renault's Busan plant surges as key facility in global EV market
Renault Korea's Busan plant / Courtesy of Renault Korea
By Baek Byung-yeul
Renault Korea’s Busan plant is rapidly emerging as a key production facility in the global electric vehicle (EV) market, the company said, Monday.
The carmaker said last month that it will start manufacturing the Polestar 4, a new EV model made by Swedish premium EV maker, Polestar, at its Busan plant in the second half of 2025.
Polestar, which became an EV brand in 2017 after separating from Volvo's high-performance division, plans to aggressively target the global EV market by sequentially launching the Polestar 2, a mid-size sedan, the Polestar 3, a mid-size SUV and the Polestar 4, a coupe SUV.
Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said that production was delegated to the Busan factory of Renault Korea because “it has over 23 years of vehicle manufacturing experience and employs more than 2,000 skilled technicians, and it is directly connected to the export port due to its geographical advantage." The vehicles produced here are expected to be exported to North America.
A Polestar electric vehicle (EV) is produced at its plant in China. Renault Korea said Friday that it will start producing the Swedish premium EV brand’s new electric car, the Polestar 4, at its Busan plant in 2025. Courtesy of Renault Korea
Established in 1997, Renault Korea's Busan factory boasts world-class quality and productivity.
Among Renault Group's 20 global car factories, the Busan factory is known to compete for first and second place within the group in major production quality management indicators, such as the number of defects per 100 vehicles produced and the number of defects per vehicle shipped from the factory.
Renault Korea produced the Nissan Rogue at the Busan plant from 2014 to 2020 for export to North America, alleviating Nissan's initial concerns about quality and demonstrating success by receiving additional orders.
The Busan factory also received high evaluations in the Harbour Report, ranking eighth among global factories in 2016 and sixth in 2018. The Harbour Report was published by global consulting firm Oliver Wyman. The company compares and analyzes the productivity indicators of car factories over a year and is recognized as an industry standard.
With the production of the Polestar 4, Renault Korea is expected to be able to improve the plant operation rate in the short term and accumulate know-how in its own EV production capabilities in the long run.
Renault Korea plans to begin a full-scale electrification campaign next year. Starting with the launch of a hybrid SUV, followed by a hybrid sedan, it will produce the next-generation electric car at the Busan factory in 2026.
“The production of the Polestar 4 at the Busan factory symbolizes the company's new start and future vision, and is expected to create more business opportunities,” said Stephane Deblaise, CEO of Renault Korea.