Samsung Commercial Vehicles

Samsung Commercial Vehicles (Korean: 삼성상용차,[4] IPA: [samsʌŋ saŋjoŋtɕʰa]) was a South Korean trucks and construction equipment manufacturer established by the Samsung Group in 1996 and closed in 2000 as a result of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.[5][6][7] The company was formed through a corporate spin-off from Samsung Heavy Industries.

Samsung Commercial Vehicles Co., Ltd.
Native name
삼성상용차 주식회사
Subsidiary
IndustryHeavy equipment
PredecessorSamsung Heavy Industries vehicle production division
FoundedAugust 1996[1]
FounderLee Kun-hee[2]
DefunctDecember 2000
Headquarters
Daegu
,
South Korea
Number of employees
1,400 (1996)[3]
ParentSamsung
Samsung Commercial Vehicles
Hangul
삼성상용차
Hanja
三星商用車
Revised RomanizationSamseong Sangyongcha
McCune–ReischauerSamsŏng Sangyongch'a
The Samsung SV110, a slightly modified Nissan Atlas F23.

History

In 1992, Samsung started to seek approval to create a commercial vehicles' assembly plant through Samsung Heavy Industries, with Nissan Diesel's technological assistance.[8][9] By 1994 the local government reluctantly granted all permissions,[6] although Samsung Heavy Industries was assembling heavy trucks from May 1993,[3] and also produced electric car prototypes between 1993 and 1994 (SEV-I, SEV-II and SEV-III).[10] In 1996, Samsung Commercial Vehicles was spun off from Samsung Heavy Industries[11][12][13] and on the same year was started the construction of a commercial vehicle plant in Daegu.[3][5][6] Truck production was moved from Changwon to the new facility by late 1997.[14] The company also opened a technical service centre at Pyeongtaek.[3] The construction equipment business of Samsung Heavy Industries (mainly producing excavators) was sold to Volvo for US$512 million in July 1998, following the onset of the Asian financial crisis. The manufacturing operation was renamed as Volvo Construction Equipment Korea and Samsung maintained a minority 13% stake and received a payment from Volvo in exchange of keeping the "Samsung" trademark for a further three years.[15] The forklift production business was sold to Clark Material Handling Company,[16] which had licensed the designs of those kind of vehicles to Samsung since 1986, after an OEM alliance established in 1984.

The Asian financial crisis hit when Samsung Commercial Vehicles marketed the first products under its name.[17][13] Samsung sold its carmaker (Samsung Motors) to the French Renault,[17] but, after negotiations with Renault's Renault VI subsidiary,[18] Scania[19] and Volvo,[20] it decided to keep the company.[17] One of the truck models produced, the Samsung SV110 with a 2.7-litre diesel engine and a 3.5-tonne GVW version, was sold at overseas markets, including Italy, Turkey and Poland.[21] Versions of the SV110 were also sold in Japan, and they were exported up to 26 countries.[22] In April 2000, the company and SsangYong Motor signed an agreement to jointly sell the truck.[23] Another model, the heavier SM510, was sold in the United Kingdom by 1999.[24]

Between 1997 and 1999, the company's share in a declining South Korean commercial vehicle market was below 4%, which made it harder to achieve economies of scale. It had a net money loss during those years, and continued in operation through the support of Samsung's financial affiliates.[25] In October 2000, truck production at the company's single assembling facility in Daegu was stopped because of an alleged problem to get new engines from Nissan, although plans for restarting production by May 2001 were announced.[26] In early November 2000, Samsung announced it was selling Samsung Commercial Vehicles' assets to cover its debts and relocating its employees,[19] following pressure from creditor banks.[2] At the end of the year, Samsung Commercial Vehicles declared bankruptcy.[4][7] All its assets were sold and its personnel was transferred to other subsidiaries of the Samsung Group.[4][27][28]

The closing of Samsung Commercial Vehicles, along with Daewoo Motors bankruptcy, severely affected the already weakened Daegu economy, increasing the opposition against the national government and the big companies.[29] Samsung Commercial Vehicles' failure generated suspicion and accusations of fraud[30][31] and destruction of evidence for certain managers.[32][33]

The company's liquidation ended in 2002.[4][1]

Branding

At first, Samsung Commercial Vehicles models had the word Samsung and the model designation on the front. In 1998, they adopted the corporate identity of sister company Samsung Motors, using the same marque badge on a redesigned grille.[34]

Models
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See also

References
  1. "삼성상용차 24일 파산 신청" [Samsung Commercial Vehicles for bankruptcy on the 24th]. article.joins.com (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 23 February 2002. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  2. "52 South Korea Firms Marked for Closure". nytimes.com. New York Times. 4 November 2000. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  3. "Annual Report 1996" (PDF). Samsung. p. 59. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 April 2015.
  4. "삼성상용차 부지 경매절차 시작" [Starts the process to auction the Samsung Commercial Vehicles' lot]. yeongnam.com (in Korean). The Yeongnam Ilbo. 16 October 2002. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  5. "History". Samsung. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  6. Guillen, Mauro F. (2003). "Developing Industry: Automobile and component manufacturing". The Limits of Convergence: Globalization and Organizational Change in Argentina, South Korea, and Spain. Princeton University Press. pp. 166–167. ISBN 978-0-691-11633-4.
  7. "Samsung Commercial Vehicle Applies for Bankruptcy". english.chosun.com. The Chosun Ilbo. 24 November 2000. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  8. "Company News: Samsung Planning commercial vehicle venture". nytimes.com. New York Times. 13 June 1992. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  9. "삼성 상용차 참여 시동" [Samsung's commercial vehicle involvement startup]. news.joins.com (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 12 June 1992. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  10. Gadacz, Oles (20 June 1994). "Samsung introduces its 1st car an electric". Automotive News. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  11. "ルノーは日産ディーゼルをこうする!? ---サムソン商用車の末路" [Will Renault do the same with Nissan Diesel!? Samsung Commercial Vehicles ends] (in Japanese). Response.jp. 12 December 2000. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  12. Whitby, David R. (1999). "Automotive Trends in Asia". In Rudnick, Leslie R.; Shubkin, Ronald L. (eds.). Synthetic Lubricants And High-Performance Functional Fluids, Revised And Expanded. CRC Press. p. 730. ISBN 0-8247-0194-1.
  13. Hong, Gweon-sam (24 November 2000). "Truck Firm Files For Bankruptcy". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. JoongAng Ilbo. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  14. "삼성상용차, 대구산 차량 18일 첫 출고" [Samsung Commercial Vehicles' Daegu assembly plant to make the first shipments on the 18th]. news.chosun.com. The Chosun Ilbo. 12 November 1997. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  15. Yun, Mikyung (2003). "Foreign Direct Investment after the Crisis". In Haggard, Stephan; Lim, Wonhyuk; Kim, Euysung (eds.). Economic Crisis and Corporate Restructuring in Korea: Reforming the Chaebol. Cambridge University Press. p. 255. ISBN 0-521-82363-3.
  16. "Construction Equipment Division of Samsung Heavy Industries Signs Letters of Intent with Volvo Construction Equipment and Clark Material Handling". Samsung. 19 February 1998. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016.
  17. Michell, Anthony (2010). "Samsung Electronics and the Samsung Group". Samsung Electronics and the Struggle For Leadership of the Electronics Industry. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-0-470-82266-1.
  18. "Renault mulls stake in Samsung truck". wards.com. Ward's. 1 February 2000. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  19. Kim, Jong-soo (4 November 2000). "삼성상용차 "엄정한 평가"…그룹계열사 인력 수용" [Transfer of workforce from Samsung Commercial Vehicles in "strict evaluation"]. fnnews.com (in Korean). The Financial News. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  20. Lee, Yong-taek (27 April 2000). "Samsung Commercial Vehicle Corporation remains unsold". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. JoongAng Ilbo. Archived from the original on 18 November 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  21. "Bargain prices at Polish show". Commercial Motor. Sutton: Reed Business Information. 191 (4881): 14. 29 June 2000. ISSN 0010-3063.
  22. "삼성1t 트럭 日 첫 수출" [Samsung's 1t trucks first export to Japan]. news.joins.com (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 9 March 2000. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  23. "Ssangyong to Sell Samsung Trucks". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. JoongAng Ilbo. 26 April 2000. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  24. Jarvis, Bryan (27 May 1999). "New equipment comes on site". Commercial Motor. Sutton: Reed Business Information. 189 (4826): 16. ISSN 0010-3063.
  25. "[기업퇴출] 삼성 상용차-`불패신화' 동반 퇴출" [Corporate withdrawal - Samsung Commercial Vehicles ending the "unbreakable myth"]. jjan.kr (in Korean). Jeonbuk Ilbo. 3 November 2000. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  26. Kim, Jong-ho (20 October 2000). "Samsung Truck Division Suspends Production Until March 2001". english.chosun.com. The Chosun Ilbo. Archived from the original on 5 March 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  27. Kim, Gi-won (November 2004). "韓国自動車産業の構造調整をめぐる争点" [Issues associated with the restructuring process of the Korean automotive industry] (PDF). The Journal of the Ohara Institute for Social Research (in Japanese). Ohara Institute for Social Research (552): 24. ISSN 0912-9421. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2006.
  28. "<기업구조조정> 삼성상용차, 자산은 매각·인력은 계열사 수용" ["Corporate restructuring:" Samsung Commercial Vehicles, sale of assets and personnel transfer to subsidiaries] (in Korean). Labortoday.com. 3 November 2000. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  29. Chang, Duckjoon (2010). "Reforms and decentralization in Korea and Russia: issues and research agendas in the center-periphery relations". The Journal of East Asian Affairs. Institute for National Security Strategy. 24 (2): 137. ISSN 1010-1608. JSTOR 23258216.
  30. "심상정의원이 예금보험공사의 삼성 상용차에 대한 조사와 관련하여 제기한 5가지 의혹에 대한 해명" [Members of the Deposit Insurance Corporation in connection with an investigation into Samsung Commercial Vehicles which raised doubts about five registers]. newswire.com. Newswire. 25 September 2005. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  31. "[Editorial] Stop Looking After Samsung". english.hani.co.kr. The Hankyoreh. 24 September 2005. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  32. "삼성상용차 설비매각, 알고보니 '비리 투성'" [Sale of Samsung Commercial Vehicles' equipment and units looked 'riddled with corruption']. Ohmynews.com. 8 October 2004. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  33. "김용철 "삼성,법원 매수해 삼성상용차 분식회계서류 빼내 해운대서 소각"" [Kim Yong: "Samsung Commercial Vehicles' accounting fraud out of document incineration "]. news.chosun.com. The Chosun Ilbo. 26 November 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  34. "三星商用車 SM/SVトラック" [Samsung Commercial Vehicles SM/SV trucks] (in Japanese). Motor.geocities.jp. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  35. "삼성삼성상용차, 도시형 1톤트럭 SV110出市" [Samsung Commercial Vehicles: 1-ton urban truck SV110]. samsung.co.kr. Samsung. 2 November 1998. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
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