Renault Samsung Motor Co., the South Korean unit of French automaker Renault SA, said Monday that it started mass production of its completely new SM7 luxury sedan.

The carmaker said the flagship luxury car is being manufactured at its Busan plant 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul with the vehicles to reach consumers in mid August.

The new full-size sedan represents a “complete model change” from the current SM7 vehicle that launched seven years ago and features a third-generation VQ engine connected to a six-speed transmission system.

Consumers can choose between a 3.5-liter or 2.5-liter engine, with the smaller VQ25 engine able to generate a maximum 190 horsepower at 4,400 rpm and 24.8 kilogram-meters of torque. The larger VQ35 can produce 258 horsepower at 4,400 rpm and 33.7 kilogram-meters of torque, which is the highest reached for any car of this class in the country.

The company said that exact annual production figures have yet to be determined with all SM7s to be sold on the South Korean market for the time being.

The company has injected 400 billion won ($379.6 million) into building the sedan, with development taking 32 months.

The local price of the new SM7 will be set at between 30 million won and 39 million won depending on engine capacity, trim and other options that are expected to be competitive in the local market. 

(Yonhap News)