Renault Korea Motors' 2023 version of the QM6 model / Courtesy of Renault Korea Motors
By Kim Jae-heun
Renault Korea Motors' commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles are gaining popularity here for their relatively low maintenance cost compared to cars run by gasoline and diesel amid recent international oil price hikes. In the first week of August, this year, average gasoline prices in Seoul recorded 1,941 won ($1.44) per liter, which is nearly half the price of LPG's 937 won per liter, according to the local oil price information provider, Opinet.
Renault Korea's QM6 LPe is the most popular commercial car run by LPG here currently. Between January and July of this year, the automaker sold a total of 10,312 QM6 LPe models in the domestic market. It constitutes 63 percent of the overall 16,416 cars sold among the QM6 series.
Previously, LPG was mainly used to run sedans here, but Renault Korea changed the paradigm to launch sports utility vehicles (SUV) run on the fuel gas.
Since 2014, when regulations for running vehicles on LPG were stricter, Renault Korea has invested 20 billion won jointly with the Korea LPG industry Association to develop a "donut tank." Only taxis and cars with the purpose of being rented could be run on LPG before 2019.
The new technology improved the conventional gas cylinders inside LPG cars that were taking up too much space in trunks. It also reduced the risk of passengers sitting in the backseats of cars getting hurt when other vehicles hit them from behind. Renault Korea now installs donut tanks in most of its LPG cars.
The introduction of a donut tank in the QM6 LPe model has helped its sales to increase as the gas cylinder is installed underneath the car's trunk.
"We have installed the donut tank in QM6 LPe's side door beam to reduce the car's vibration and noise when driving too," a Renault Korea official said.
