The Renault Samsung SM3 is a

compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class—predominantly used in North America—that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, before ...

produced by the South Korean manufacturer

Renault Samsung Motors Renault Korea Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean car manufacturer headquartered in Busan where its single assembly site is also located, with additional facilities at Seoul (administration), Giheung District, Giheung (research and development) and D ...

from 2003 to 2020. __TOC__

First generation (G10; 2002–2009)

The first generation SM3 was a rebranded first generation Nissan Sunny/Bluebird Sylphy made in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Production began in September 2002 in

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. It received a facelift in August 2005 (known as "SM3 New Generation"). It has four versions and two four-cylinder engines available: the original 1.5–litre QG15DE and the 1.6–litre with CVTC system QG16DE petrol, both from Nissan. The 1.6 was added in July 2004 as South Korean automobile taxation was changed; hitherto, there had been a prohibitive tax threshold at 1.5 liters. In 2006, the SM3 was launched as Nissan Almera Classic in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The same year, the car was launched in Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

as Nissan Almera, (Except in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

where it was sold as

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

), replacing Sentra after this became a large family car. The SM3 was also sold as the Nissan Sunny in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and as the

Renault Scala The Renault Scala nameplate has been used by the French automobile manufacturer Renault for the following cars, in the following markets: * Renault Samsung SM3, in Mexico, Egypt, Cuba and Colombia from 2010–2013 * Nissan Almera#N17, Nissan Almer ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. In July 2009, it was renamed as SM3 CE (Classic Edition), with no changes to the exterior. The company announced production of the first generation SM3 would be continued while demand existed. The lineup was made smaller and only the 1.6-liter engine remained available in the CE model. The SM3 CE was discontinued in 2011 in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and was manufactured in

for the

n, and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Market, under the

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

brand. Production ended in 2013.

Gallery

File:Samsung SM3 (first generation, pre-facelift) in Light Blue, front left.jpg, 2002 model front view File:Samsung SM3 (first generation, pre-facelift) in Light Blue, rear left.jpg, 2002 model rear view File:0 Samsung SM3 (first generation) 3.jpg, 2005 model front view File:Renault Samsung sm3 interior.jpg, interior

Second generation (L38; 2009–2020)

In April 2009, a redesigned SM3 was unveiled at the

Seoul Motor Show The Seoul Mobility Show () is a biennial auto show held at KINTEX (Korea International Exhibition Center), Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. Hosted by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), it is recognized as an international show by the Orga ...

. The second-generation SM3 is essentially a notchback saloon version of the Mégane 3 with minor cosmetic changes, also badged as Renault Fluence. In 2019, Renault Samsung ceased production of the

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

d SM3.

2012 facelift

In October 2012,

introduced a redesigned front end for the 2013 model year of the SM3, with a new grille,

headlamp A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for t ...

s and bumper as well as an improved equipment.

SM3 Neo

To create a "family feeling" with a new model of the company, the QM3 imported from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

introduced a new facelift to the SM3's front-end for the 2015 model year, known as the SM3 Neo.

Gallery

file:Sm3 apr2010 frontside low angle.jpg, Front side file:Sm3 apr2010 interior.jpg, Cockpit file:Sm3 apr2010 engineroom.jpg, Engine compartment file:RENAULT SAMSUNG SM3 L38 2013 01.JPG, 2013 model front view file:RENAULT SAMSUNG SM3 L38 2013 02.JPG, 2013 model rear view file:RENAULT SAMSUNG SM3 L38 2013 03.JPG, 2013 model Cockpit file:RENAULT SAMSUNG SM3 L38 2013 04.JPG, 2013 model meter file:RENAULT SAMSUNG SM3 Neo L38 2014 001.JPG, SM3 Neo front view file:RENAULT SAMSUNG SM3 Neo L38 2014 002.JPG, SM3 Neo rear view

SM3 Z.E.

At the 2011

unveiled an all-electric variant of the SM3 called the Z.E. It is based on the Renault Fluence Z.E. and is partly financed by the South Korean Government. The car entered into

mass production Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines ...

at the Busan factory during October 2013. The company targets a production of about 4,000 units per year. In 2013, its second marketing year and the first of South Korean assembly, the SM3 Z.E. was leader in electric vehicle sales, with a market share of 58% and 453 cars sold. The company attributed this to its AC-3 charger, its greater range compared to rivals and a better warranty for the battery. In November 2017, company introduced new SM3 Z.E. with range increased by 57 percent to 213 kilometers (132.3 miles) based on the Korean type approval cycle.

References

External links

* * (SM3 Z.E.) {{Renault Samsung Motors SM3 Compact cars Sedans Front-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 2009 Cars discontinued in 2020