Hail a taxi in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and you may find yourself in the back of a zero-emission electric vehicle.
It’s down to a Government-backed initiative designed to improve the air quality in the city and to help boost the earnings of local taxi drivers by reducing their fuel costs.
Renault Samsung Motors (RSM) is helping by loaning ten SM3 Z.E. sedans to Seoul City for free so that members of the Seoul Taxi Association – and their passengers – can discover for themselves the benefits of using an EV for taxi work.
Free use of the cars is just part of the campaign, which runs until April 2015. Taxi businesses involved in the scheme will be exempt from tolls through a number of tunnels into the city. They will also be given a 50% discount on parking fees in the city center and will be given free access to the City’s 34 quick chargers, a network that the Korea Environment Corporation has undertaken to expand still further.
RSM dominates Korea’s EV market, claiming a 58% share in 2013. The Renault Samsung SM3 Z.E. is the only sedan-type EV in Korea and offers the greatest amount of space among the EVs suitable for taxi work there.
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