Riding on solid demand from Europe, Renault Samsung Motors Co., exported a record 70,914 cars in the first half of this year, the company said last week. Renault Samsung is the Korean unit of French automaker Renault SA.

The figure the carmaker unveiled surpassed the previous high of 50,160 units tallied in the first six months of 2010, with the latest surge being fueled by the popularity of its SM5 midsize car and steady demand for the SM3 compact and its QM5 crossover utility vehicle.

The carmaker began exporting the SM5 to Europe in January, with the first exports of the SM3 and QM5 taking place in 2006 and 2008, respectively.

“The figure represents the highest first-half record since Renault Samsung was launched in 2000,” the company said. “Exports accounted for 57 percent of the 123,516 cars made by the company from January through June.”

In 2000, the carmaker shipped out just 192 vehicles, with overseas shipments surpassing 1,000 for the first time in 2003 and reaching 115,783 for the whole of last year.

In June, the company’s exports increased 43.6 percent on-year to 14,778 units, with overall sales reaching 24,212 vehicles for the month.

(cynthiak@heraldcorp.com)