Renault to start making Twizy cars in Korea from next year

Renault Samsung Motors, the Korean unit of French carmaker Renault S.A., is planning to start producing the Twizy ultra-small electric car in its sole domestic plant next year, industry sources said Monday. Renault Samsung, Busan Metropolitan City, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy are expected to sign an initial agreement this month to begin manufacturing Twizys, which are classified as heavy quadricycles in some countries, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

He said assembly will begin “sometime during the 2019” at the carmaker’s plant in Busan, some 453 kilometers (281.5 miles) southeast of Seoul.

This year, Renault Samsung has sold most of the 1,000 Twizys that were produced in its parent Renault’s plant in Valladolid, Spain, and shipped to Korea, a company spokesman said.

The company plans to roll out up to 15,000 Twizys annually for domestic sales and exports to Asian markets, another person familiar with the matter said.

Renault Samsung didn’t confirm the plan.