Top stories of SAIC Motor in 2019

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese automaker SAIC Motor announced its annual sales in 2019 shrank 11.54% from a year ago to 6,237,950 units. However, after suffering 15-straight-month year-on-year downturn, the Chinese biggest automaker finally posted growth in December.

The Shanghai-based auto group is striving to fit itself in the disruptive technical trends of electrification, ICV and sharing mobility service. Gasgoo hereby summarized the major events that to some degree delineate the development track of SAIC Motor's 2019.

SAIC Motor launches “Xiangdao Zuche” mobility service brand for enterprise usage

SAIC Motor announced on April 28 that it had officially launched the enterprise-class mobility service brand dubbed “Xiangdao Zuche” as part of upgrading strategy for “Xiangdao Chuxing”, a mobility service brand launched in December 2018.

The “Xiangdao Zuche” (“Zuche” means “car rental” in Chinese) is dedicated to providing comprehensive service and technology solutions for business trips, employees' travels as well as vehicle and chauffeur management.

300,000th vehicle for SAIC Motor PV's Zhengzhou base rolls off production line on May 29

SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle (SAIC Motor PV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAIC Motor, saw the 300,000th vehicle for its Zhengzhou plant officially roll off the production line on May 29. The milestone vehicle is also the 100,000th Roewe i5 car, according to the PV maker.

It took less than 2 years for the Zhengzhou plant to get a leap from 0 to 300,000 units in total vehicle outputs. “Last year, our production base in Zhengzhou generated a total value of over RMB10 billion. Besides, its cumulative output value for the first five months of 2019 is expected to exceed RMB6.5 billion,” Ding Bo, general manager of SAIC Motor PV’s Zhengzhou branch, said at the ceremony.

According to the automaker's introduction, the Zhengzhou base is a “digital plant” that boasts modernized intelligent manufacturing techniques. Using the manufacturing execution system (MES), workshops are able to share their data with each other and efficiently utilize them accordingly, laying a data foundation for the plant to execute smart manufacturing process.

SAIC Motor says world's biggest hydrogen-refueling station launched in Shanghai

The world's biggest and highest-level hydrogen-refueling station had been officially launched on June 5 at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park, SAIC Motor announced via its official WeChat account.

The fresh hydrogen-refueling station is a joint program between Shanghai Chemical Industry Park and the China's largest auto group SAIC Motor. The automaker said SAIC was the only company in China that comprehensively deployed three major NEV technical routes—all-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell, and had proactively engaged in the formulation of 15 national standards for fuel cell.

According to the Shanghai-based automaker, the new station was going to serve 20 SAIC Motor-owned fuel cell vehicles deployed at the pilot industry park and also offer relevant business services to the public.

SAIC Motor ready to issue RMB20 billion worth of bonds to raise capital for R&D innovation

SAIC Motor was ready to apply for public issuance of RMB20 billion worth of bonds by means of shelf offering and the plan had been approved by the company's board of directors and supervisory board, the China's biggest auto group announced on July 19.

The money raised from the shelf offering would be used to replenish the group's working capital, promote R&D innovation and develop concrete projects after deducting the issuance expense, according to the announcement.

This is not the mere case that SAIC Motor raised capital for the sake of “R&D innovation”. In January 2017, SAIC Motor raised RMB15 billion through a non-public issuance of stocks. The company stated the capital raised was primarily utilized on R&D innovation for such programs as energy-saving and new NEV products, forward-looking technologies of fuel cell vehicles and ICVs.

SAIC, Alibaba step up cooperation for next-generation ICV

SAIC Motor and the Internet giant Alibaba deepened their strategic cooperation on August 28 for the next generation intelligent-connected vehicle (ICV).

Under the strengthened partnership, both parties would restructure Banma Network Technology (Banma), a startup initiated by SAIC Motor and Alibaba, and Alibaba's operating system YunOS. Besides, their collaboration would extend to cover such areas as mobility service platform, autonomous driving and automobile-related cloud, etc.

The reorganization would make Alibaba the largest shareholder of Banma, a provider of Internet car total solutions. Per the deal, the entire intellectual property and businesses of YunOS would be injected to Banma, making the startup wholly own YunOS’s underlying infrastructure & code and get the right to use it. Meanwhile, Banma was allowed to authorize eligible automobile brands and designated partners to use the technology.  

SAIC Motor among those given Shanghai's first license plates for ICV pilot application

Shanghai released its first batch of license plates for intelligent-connected vehicle (ICV) pilot application to SAIC Motor, BMW and Didi at the 2019 World Autonomous Vehicle Ecosystem Conference (WAVE), making itself the first city in China that issued this kind of license.

Companies that were given the demonstration licenses are allowed to deploy their ICVs on urban roads for pilot application, a further step towards the ICV commercial deployment, starting to try some autonomous driving functions with passengers carried on seats.

According to a trial regulation released by Shanghai government a few days ago, companies were allowed to apply the ICV pilot project for up to 50 vehicles. The number can be increased after a 6-month smooth operation.

SAIC Motor's Ningde PV base begins production, really close to CATL

On September 28, Chinese largest automaker SAIC Motor formally completed the construction of the Ningde base, its fourth manufacturing base for self-owned PVs following the facilities in Lingang of Shanghai, Pukou of Nanjing and Zhengzhou.

The MG eHS plug-in hybrid SUV, the first model produced by the Ningde plant and the third NEV model of MG, came off the production line at the same time. After launched in China, the new model will go westward into countries like the UK, said SAIC Motor.

Since the groundbreaking on April 28, 2018, it took the automaker only 17 months to fulfill a vehicle production base that covers an area of over 4.5 million square meters. According to SAIC Motor, the new facility was created to achieve “flexible, digital, automatic and data-driven” production and management, and would offer products satisfying the strict European emission standards. 

The new base, located at Ningde Sanyu Park, is only 3.4 kilometers away from CATL, the world's leading EV battery supplier. It is said that the batteries carried by the MG eHS would come from the battery giant.

Volkswagen's Shanghai-based EV-only manufacturing plant completed

SAIC Volkswagen launched on November 8 an all-new and BEV-focused manufacturing plant in Anting, Shanghai, only one year after the groundbreaking.

With a planned capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year, the new plant is particularly built for the production of all-electric vehicles based on Volkswagen's MEB (Modular Electric Drive Matrix) platform. It is also the group's first plant of this kind worldwide. The beginning of series production of MEB-based BEVs in Anting is scheduled for October 2020, said the German auto giant.

On the same day, a first China-specific all-electric Volkswagen ID. series model rolled off the production line at the newly-launched plant, setting a milestone in Volkswagen Group China's e-mobility strategy. The significant model has a very romantic Chinese name “Chujian”, meaning “first encounter”.

The trial production in Anting starts with the aforesaid “Chujian” ID. model. In the future, the plant will manufacture MEB-based BEV models under various brands of Volkswagen Group. Local production in China is set to be increased to 15 MEB models from different brands by 2025, said Volkswagen.

SAIC Roewe launches development routes for new technology, design, pattern

On November 20, SAIC Roewe released its development routes of new technology, new design and new pattern.

The auto marque, paying much more attention to technologies in recent years, boasts many independent intellectual property rights in BEV, PHEV and FCEV segments. Based on the technology strategy NetGreen released in 2015, it has gradually established a comprehensive system and developed advanced technologies for NEV segment. The brand has applied these to its new energy products such as the Roewe ERX5, the Ei5, the Ei6 and the MARVEL X, building a better NEV portfolio. 

The SAIC's brand also made public the innovative second-generation intelligent technologies related to PHEV. One of them is an intelligent electric drive unit (EDU), which adopts dual-input shaft DHT (dedicated hybrid transmission). The transmission efficiency can reach up to 94%. Another highlight lies in its IEM (intelligent energy management) system, integrating 18 kinds of mixes like driving, energy recovery and power management modes. The aforesaid technologies are combined to offer drivers more smooth and energy-saving manipulation. The Roewe RX5 eMAX, unveiled at Auto Gunaghou 2019, would be outfitted with the new technologies.              

Besides, Integrated Intelligence, an all-new intelligent electric vehicle design concept introduced by Roewe, involves integration, essence, and vitality. The brand's fire-new Ei6 was expected to be designed in accordance with the new one.     

SAIC Motor, China Post to team up on vehicle procurement, auto finance, express & logistics

SAIC Motor on December 9 inked a framework agreement with China Post Group, a state-owned enterprise engaged in parcel delivery and post items, to carry out strategic collaboration on complete vehicle procurement, fleet operation, finance, express & logistics and market expansion, the Shanghai-based auto giant announced via its WeChat account.

In accordance with the agreement, SAIC Motor planned to provide China Post with its NEVs, including HEVs, BEVs and FCVs, vehicles running on gasoline or diesel and other bespoke vehicles, which would serve the fields like business travel, logistics, employer's personal trip and fleet operation. Besides, both parties intended to jointly popularize the applications of NEVs and intelligent vehicles.

As for the finance, the state-run automaker and delivery service provider were ready to team up on and co-explore company credit, trade finance, negotiable instruments and automotive finance that were associated with wholesale business, and industrial fund, auto loans to individual buyers as well as investment banking, etc.

Moreover, China Post would offer SAIC Motor such international services as consignment, freight forwarding, warehouse management and good delivery, as well as custom clearance at key ports and logistics service in some bonded zones.

Furthermore, China Post would help the automaker expand market countrywide with its service network and resources of media, customers, products, data and partners.

SAIC Motor, GAC Group become strategic partners

Two state-owned auto giants SAIC Motor and GAC Group inked a framework agreement on December 23 to carry out a widespread strategic cooperation in a number of realms, both companies announced via their WeChat accounts.

The significant collaboration would involve such areas as technical R&D, resource synergy, investment, market expansion, business model innovation and global business operation, said GAC Group. This is the first-time tie-up formed between the two high-end manufacturing titans in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone.

In addition, the partnership would witness their joint efforts over the R&D of new business models like car-sharing, mobility service and separating consumption of vehicles and batteries.

Moreover, global market is the domain both parties are striving for. Under the agreement, SAIC and GAC will team up on seeking resources of sales channels and manufacturing, and searching business partners in overseas markets.