Renault Samsung Motors said Thursday that the carmaker had revamped its existing design center to become “Renault Design Asia,” leading the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s car design projects on the continent.

The Korean unit of France-based Renault Group will play a leading role in developing the next generations of its flagship mid-size sedan SM5 and the QM5 sport utility vehicle, the company said.

The new announcement came after Carlos Tavares, chief operating officer of Renault, hinted in January that the group’s mid-size sedan development projects would be transferred completely to the Renault Samsung Technical Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

Renault had been operating four design centers globally in France, Romania, Brazil and India. With the latest launch in Korea, the carmaker is expected to ramp up its efforts to satisfy the tastes of Asian customers, especially those in the all-important Chinese market.

“Thanks to the hard work of RSM employees who successfully carried out the 2012 Revival Plan, 2013 will be a meaningful year in which RSM will take off in the domestic and global markets,” said RSM CEO Francois Provost.

“Through the upgrade of Renault Design Asia, RSM can prove its competitiveness in the global market once again.”

The COO of Renault also reemphasized the group’s commitment to the Korean unit, saying: “RSM has proven its competence, and its status within Renault is rising. RSM will continue to firmly stabilize its role within the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Renault will fully support it.”

In order to achieve its longer-term goal of elevating its Korean market share from the current 3 percent to 10 percent, RSM pledged more efforts to secure price competitiveness and cooperate more closely with suppliers.

Renault executives are optimistic about the Nissan Rogue crossover, whose production for the North American market will be carried out in Busan from 2014, with an annual output of 800,000 units.

As Renault aims to expand its presence in Asia, which makes up almost half the global car market, the role of the Korean operation is also expected to be further enhanced. The carmaker hopes to double the proportion of its sales in Asia from the current 10 percent to 20 percent in the coming years.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)