Automotive
Samsung SM3 ZE
Samsung Threatens Kia
EV sales are up three fold in South Korea, with projected sales this year (2.000-plus) above the number of plug-ins sold until in Dec 31 2014, making 2015 the real Year One of EV's in SK.
Looking at the ranking, the Samsung SM3 ZE (The second coming of the Fluence ZE), is selling strong, registering in one month almost as much as it did last year (203 units), pressuring the leader Kia Soul EV.
The BMW i3 is increasing the sales pace and winning share (Up 2% since June), while two other foreigners are also making themselves noticed, with the Nissan Leaf in #4 and the just landed BMW i8 looking to replicate the success it has in other markets.
With this kind of growth rates, it wouldn't be surprising if other manufacturers joined the SK plug-in market.
| Pl | South Korea | August | 2015 | % | Pl '14 |
| 1 | Kia Soul EV e) | 80 | 657 | 38 | 1 |
| 2 | Samsung SM3 ZE | 180 | 640 | 37 | 2 |
| 3 4 6 | BMW i3 Nissan Leaf Chevrolet Spark EV e) | 44 11 5 | 243 80 60 | 14 5 3 | 4 6 5 |
| 7 8 | Kia Ray EV BMW i8 | 9 | 36 28 | 2 2 | 3 N/A |
| TOTAL | 329 | 1.744 | 100 |
