SGMW’s first proprietary EPS controller rolls off production line

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW), General Motors' joint venture with Chinese partners SAIC Motor and Guangxi Automobile Group, on May 14 saw its first proprietary EPS (electric power steering) controller roll off the production line, according to the company's press release.

SGMW EPS controller; photo credit: SGMW

The automaker said the significant EPS controller was co-developed by cooperative universities. It took the developers only 8 days to determine the development scheme and only 14 days to complete the validation in vehicles and put the core component into volume production.

The birth of the locally-made controller will be greatly conducive to shoring up SGMW's production and sales amid the industry-wide chip crunch.

On the same day, SGMW signed its first intellectual property agreement for core controller units.

The company revealed it had replaced around 300 types of chips with locally-made ones, and fulfilled relevant development and validation works. These chips have been applied in such components as power amplifier module, rear parking sensor module, smart voice assistant, motor controller, EPS, ABS (anti-lock braking system), and VCU (vehicle control unit), contributing to the production of 500,000 vehicles/knock-down kits in total.

Besides, SGMW added locally-made chips it used are compatible with up to 34 automotive parts, including EPS, engine control module, display, ABS, and infotainment system.