From "Building Cars" to "Building Ecosystems": The Decoding Behind SAIC's User-Centric Enterprise Transformation After Breaking 100 Million Units

May 28, 2026, Shanghai North Bund World Lobby. As the 100 millionth user of SAIC Group — Momenta CEO Cao Xudong — received the keys to the IM LS9 Hyper, SAIC Group officially became the first Chinese automotive group to achieve cumulative production and sales of over 100 million vehicles globally. This is not merely a pile of numbers, but a tangible witness to the Chinese automotive industry's journey from "zero breakthrough" to "explosive volume," and then to "substantial leap."

The delivery ceremony for SAIC Group's global first 100 millionth user is the automotive industry's first brand integration marketing gala combining online and offline channels with global multi-city linkage. With Dragon TV's global live broadcast as the main online hub, Shanghai World Lobby as the core offline venue, linking delivery sites in multiple domestic and international cities to resonate at the same frequency, breaking spatial and temporal boundaries, integrating corporate development history, brand culture, user stories, and ecosystem cooperation into one, opening up a new mode of gala dissemination and brand narrative in the automotive industry. This is not only a highlight review of SAIC's 70-year development but also a contemporary footnote to China's automotive industry moving from a large country to a powerful country.

Just a few days later, SAIC Group released its May performance report: monthly sales of 349,000 vehicles, cumulative 1.651 million vehicles from January to May, continuing to lead the Chinese automotive industry. The proportion of independent brands broke through 70% for the first time, new energy vehicles surged by 46.5%, overseas markets surged by 45.9%. Historical milestones and current leading trends shone brightly under the spotlight of the 100 million vehicle delivery.

I. SAIC's Coming of Age Ceremony for Transformation into a "User-Centric High-Tech Enterprise"

Unlike traditional automakers' single-venue, closed-door offline press conferences, SAIC boldly innovated this time, creating a new integrated marketing model of "online live streaming + offline venue" with multi-location global linkage.

The gala took Shanghai North Bund World Lobby as the main venue, relying on Dragon TV's global live broadcast and synchronized full-network broadcasting, while connecting overseas delivery stations such as the UK, Indonesia, Singapore, and offline event sites in multiple domestic cities, creating a grand scene of inter-continental, multi-time-zone, online and offline screen resonance. 15 independent and joint venture brands under its umbrella and 19 passenger and commercial vehicle models appeared collectively, covering all scenarios from home commuting, luxury flagship to logistics commercial and public transportation, presenting a complete product ecosystem matrix.

Even more specially, the entire ceremony completely abandoned the lengthy leadership speeches of traditional press conferences, yielding the C-position completely to users. From tech bloggers, cultural celebrities, and sports legends, to overseas MG owners carrying memories of three generations, grassroots rural officials, and public welfare guardians, to enterprise users like DHL and Jiading Public Transport, real and vivid travel stories ran through the entire event, giving the gala warmth, resonance, and a sense of life.

The gala reduced the grand number of "100 million vehicles" into a tangible, warm slice of life. 100 million is not a KPI, it is the accumulation of 100 million "I choose you".

This narrative strategy is an attitude itself: SAIC's development logic has shifted from product-centric "I build the car, you buy it", to user-centric "I understand your needs first, then decide what to build".

User stories and ecosystem resonance spanning 70 years mark that SAIC's development logic has completely shifted from "product-centric" to "user-based root, technology as sail, ecosystem as wings".

The first 100 millionth milestone vehicle was designated as IM LS9 Hyper, and the first 100 millionth user was Momenta CEO Cao Xudong, cleverly interpreting SAIC's cooperative pattern of mutual pursuit with ecosystem partners. As a domestic top-tier intelligent driving technology enterprise, Momenta and SAIC have long formed a deep strategic binding. Both parties started with the IM brand, jointly developing advanced intelligent driving solutions. Now technical results have fully spilled over, successively empowering SAIC's full-range brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Buick, Cadillac, MG, achieving the universal implementation of a set of top-tier intelligent driving technologies on all matrix vehicle models. Ecosystem partners becoming the 100 millionth car owners is not only a high recognition of SAIC's car building strength and intelligent ecosystem, but also the most vivid realistic portrayal of SAIC adhering to open co-creation and not setting technical walls.

II. Journey Review: 100 Million Vehicle Rings, Carving the Evolution History of Chinese Automotive Industry

The digital glory of 100 million vehicles is by no means accidental, but a necessary outcome of SAIC's 70+ years of rooting in industry and resonating symbiotically with the Chinese automotive industry.

1955, Shanghai Automotive Industry started hard from alley factories; 1958, workers manually hammered out Phoenix brand sedans with hammers, achieving the "zero breakthrough" in Shanghai sedan manufacturing, casting the industrial background of self-reliance. In the 1980s, SAIC led the joint venture era, landing the country's first sedan joint venture enterprise SAIC Volkswagen, taking Santana localization breakthrough as the starting point, adhering to the quality bottom line of "never settling for inferior substitutes", building a complete automotive parts industrial system for China.

In the 1990s, SAIC General Motors project landed, setting the "Shanghai Speed" of 23 months for factory construction and production; Pan-Asia Automotive Technology Center was established, opening a new chapter of localization R&D in joint ventures. After 2000, SAIC entered a new stage of joint venture operation and independent innovation side by side, independent brands such as Roewe, Maxus, Wuling, IM were born successively, completing the key transformation from technology introduction to independent R&D.

In 2014, SAIC actively responded to national strategic calls, taking the lead in comprehensive transformation to new energy and intelligence. After a complete 12-year zodiac cycle, SAIC grew from "leading the way" at the beginning of transformation to a "thousand horses galloping" pattern of independent and joint ventures running side by side, comprehensive passenger and commercial layout, and simultaneous flight within and outside China. Nowadays, SAIC's business covers six major sectors: complete vehicles, parts, mobility services, finance, international operations, and innovative technology, ranking in the Fortune Global 500 list 21 times, with products and services covering over 170 countries and regions globally, overseas cumulative deliveries breaking 7 million vehicles. This billion-level delivery gala is exactly condensing 70 years of industry changes, technology iterations, and strategic leaps into an instant, becoming a vivid microcosm of Chinese automotive industry growth.

III. Culture Casting Soul: Three Genes Precipitation, Supporting 100 Million User Trusts

The core supporting SAIC to cross the time cycle and gain the trust of 100 million global users is the three spiritual cores of breakthrough culture, quality culture, and cooperation culture carved into the enterprise's bones, also the deep root of the "knowing cars more than you" user concept.

Breakthrough Culture is the color of SAIC daring to be first. From starting from scratch in an alley auto parts factory to cross-industry car making, to being the first to enter joint venture cooperation; to launching the world's first internet car, to leading semi-solid state batteries, full line-by-wire chassis, L4 dual-license intelligent driving, SAIC has always been at the forefront of industry changes, solidifying the hard power of "knowing cars" with technological breakthroughs.

Quality Culture is SAIC's 70-year-old foundation for standing. From the Santana era benchmarking international strict standards, to nowadays overall vehicle safety 30% higher than national standards, Magic Battery achieving zero spontaneous combustion and zero thermal runaway, whole vehicle 300,000 km without major repair hardcore reputation, SAIC runs "Quality is Life" through the R&D, manufacturing, and service full chain, guarding user peace of mind with ultimate craftsmanship.

Cooperation Culture is SAIC's open and inclusive pattern. Always adhering to not setting technical walls and not doing ecosystem islands, from the early Santana localization community, to the Joint Venture 2.0 era moving from "market for technology" to jointly defining products with Volkswagen, Audi; to cross-border co-creation with tech partners like Huawei, Momenta, Doubao, Horizon Robotics, gathering global wisdom, converting cutting-edge intelligent technology into travel experiences perceivable and enjoyable by ordinary users, truly achieving tech equality.

IV. Latest Achievements: Acceleration Run After 100 Million Vehicles

100 million vehicles is the scale of history, while market performance at this moment is the echo of reality.

The just passed May, SAIC Group sold 349,000 complete vehicles in total, 1.651 million vehicles cumulative from January to May, leading the Chinese automotive industry for five consecutive months. What is more worth attention is the structural change: independent brand sales share broke through 70% for the first time, reaching 71.1%, increasing by 7 percentage points year-on-year. This means SAIC's growth engine has gradually switched to the independent track.

New energy vehicles surged across the board, May sales 182,000 vehicles, year-on-year growth of 46.5%. IM Auto 1-5 month cumulative year-on-year growth of 114.6%, MG4 successfully achieved sales breaking 10,000 in 8 months, MG4X brought semi-solid state batteries down to the 90,000 Yuan level SUV market; Huajing S launched, locked orders broke 30,000 units in five days; Zhijing E7 delivery broke 10,000 in the first month after launch. Joint venture new energy is strongly recovering, SAIC General Motors new energy surged 75% year-on-year, SAIC Volkswagen new energy grew 34.3% year-on-year.

Overseas markets singing high and marching forward, 1-5 month cumulative sales 589,000 vehicles, year-on-year growth of 45.9%. MG cumulative sales in Europe 150,000 vehicles, growing 20% year-on-year, continuing to hold the title of top Chinese brand sales champion in Europe. In Australia-New Zealand, Belgium, UK, Chile, etc., MG multiple models firmly ranked top in the sub-market.

100 million vehicles is not the end, but a higher starting line. When historical glory resonates with current leading, SAIC's systemic competitiveness is moving from quantitative change to qualitative change.

V. Era Monument: 100 Million Vehicles is Not the End, But a New Starting Point of User Thinking

SAIC cumulative production and sales broke 100 million vehicles, 1-5 month 1.651 million vehicles total sales, brilliant performance of significant growth in multiple sectors, is not only a milestone for the enterprise itself, but also a landmark monument for China's manufacturing upgrade and Chinese automotive industry moving towards automotive power.

For the industry, this online and offline integrated global gala, redefined the communication paradigm of large-scale brand activities, providing the industry with a referenceable integrated marketing model; For the manufacturing industry, SAIC with full industry chain system strength, showcased the hardcore competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing intelligence; For globalization, SAIC is steadily moving from product going global to value chain going global, relying on four overseas manufacturing centers, three R&D centers, and its own RoRo fleet, continuously polishing China's automotive global business card.

Standing at the new starting point of 100 million vehicles, SAIC clearly announced: 100 million vehicles is not the end, but a new starting line for leaping from "scale leading" to "quality leading, technology leading" and transforming into a user-centric high-tech company. In the future, SAIC will continue to solidify the three technical foundations of Smart Brain, Healthy Body, Strong Heart, deepening global Glocal strategy, gathering partner strength with an open ecosystem, accompanying global users all the way with the original intention of "knowing cars more than you".

Conclusion: Walking Together for a Billion Miles, Starting a New Journey

From an auto parts small factory in the alley in 1955 to a giant ship breaking 100 million global production and sales in 2026; From the first manually hammered Phoenix brand sedan to the 100 millionth IM LS9 Hyper.

Numbers freeze the past, but transformation defines the future. Standing at the new starting point of 100 million vehicles, SAIC clearly transmitted a signal: This is not only a victory of scale, but also a start towards "user-centric high-tech company".

The future has come, SAIC will continue to use technology as a sail, users as roots, and ecosystem as wings, sailing from number one in China to the hearts of global users.