May 28, 2026, Shanghai North Bund World Living Room. When the lights of the IM LS9 Hyper illuminated, when the scenes of global relay delivery were transmitted back to the main venue from London, Jakarta, Singapore, SAIC Motor Group officially became the first automotive group in the history of China's automotive industry to achieve cumulative production and sales of 100 million vehicles.
100 million vehicles, can be said to be SAIC Motor Group's "scorching memory" accumulated step by step over 70 years.
From 1958 when a hammer tapped out the Phoenix brand, to 2026 when the first 100 millionth IM LS9 Hyper went off the assembly line; from the tapping and banging of small alley factories to roaming across over 170 countries and regions worldwide. With original aspiration, craftsmanship, sincerity, unity, and ambition, SAIC has carved a mark unique to itself in the history of China's automotive industry development.
Original Aspiration — Adhering to Industry, Unwavering
What is a scorching original aspiration? It was 1958, when workers hammered out Phoenix brand cars bit by bit in an alley workshop.
Fenders were tapped by hand, roofs were tapped by hand, arms were swollen and couldn't be raised, but they gritted their teeth and hammered out the "zero breakthrough" in Shanghai's car manufacturing. In 1959, Premier Zhou tried the Phoenix brand and said: "It's still a problem of level!" This sentence became the motivation for SAIC people to keep catching up.
By the 1980s, during the assault on Santana localization, Comrade Zhu Rongji decided "Never engage in 'replacing vegetables'." SAIC gathered city-wide strength to crack key components, boosting localization rate from 2.7% to 80%, proving the quality of Chinese manufacturing with world standards.
In 1991, when Deng Xiaoping inspected Shanghai Volkswagen, he said with passion: "You can produce 1 million cars." At that time, no one expected that today SAIC Motor Group has already stood on the steps of 100 million vehicles.
And in today's intelligent electric wave, SAIC Motor Group still insists on self-developed semi-solid-state batteries, drive-by-wire steering, and Large AI Models. Build good cars, hold core technologies in your own hands — this original aspiration of serving the nation through industry has never cooled for 70 years.
The first 100 millionth IM LS9 Hyper is equipped with full drive-by-wire steering, NVIDIA Thor Chip, and endogenous security technology, which is exactly the echo of original aspiration in the new era.
Craftsmanship — Refine Quality, Polish Products
What is a scorching craftsmanship? It was during Santana localization, when German experts taught technology hand-in-hand, and Chinese workers learned technology day and night. Chinese and foreign employees respected each other and progressed together, only to polish a product that "jumped straight to international level".
In 1994, Comrade Wu Bangguo wrote an inscription for SAIC: "Strive for Perfection". These four words have become the imprint of SAIC's quality culture since then, carved into every component, every process, every vehicle.
In 1998, Yanfeng Company supplied bumpers for Shanghai General Motors. The first batch of products all met international standards, but the client raised higher requirements. Yanfeng leaders did not hesitate, and cut off that qualified bumper on the spot: "What the customer does not want must be cut off!" Three months later, more advanced technology was born. This near-obsessive pursuit of quality runs through SAIC Motor Group's 70-year manufacturing history.
Even entering the new energy era, that spirit of "Striving for Perfection" has never slackened. The development of Magic Cube Battery is a microcosm of this. To ensure safety, it underwent extreme tests with 6 times the national standard, maintaining a record of zero spontaneous combustion and zero thermal runaway since production, and in 2024 won the Second Class Award of National Science and Technology Progress.
From 60,000-level Roewe i6 to 500,000-level Cadillac Kaiweide, every car carries SAIC's craftsmanship heritage. MG4 globally launched semi-solid-state battery for the first time, Buick Zhijing E7 created "Children's Full Score Cockpit" — craftsmanship is the common language of all brands under SAIC Motor Group.
Sincerity — Give Back to Users, Trust is Not Failed
100 million vehicles mean 100 million times user choice, 100 million pieces of trust entrusted. Faced with this heavy trust, SAIC Motor Group responded with scorching sincerity. It used real "Technology Equity" to give the best technology to the most ordinary people. This is exactly SAIC Motor Group's core philosophy of "Knowing Cars and Knowing You": Knowing cars is the extreme pursuit of technology; knowing you is to land every piece of cutting-edge technology accurately into a perceptible and enjoyable beautiful mobility experience for users.
From 60,000-level Roewe i6 standard equipment with 8155 Chip and Doubao Large Model, to 150,000-level Hujing S standard equipment with Huawei Qianshun AD Pro ADS Pro Enhanced Version and HarmonyOS Cockpit, SAIC has changed high-level smart experience from luxury car exclusivity to mass standard. High-level intelligence is no longer tightly bound to high prices, this is that sincerity of knowing you landing.
Consumers responded with choices. Luo Zhenyu, founder of GetApp, became the 001st Experience Officer of Hujing S, charity blogger Liu Jia was gifted Zhijing E7 for protecting mountain children, former national player Yang Chen, London intern doctor Natalia, family Cao Kailiang... Every user story is saying the same sentence: "You understand me."
Behind 100 million vehicles are 100 million such voices. SAIC Motor Group used sincerity to turn "Knowing You" from an exclamation into a daily routine.
Unity — Join Forces Together, A Wall of Strength
What is scorching unity? It was the Santana era, Chinese and foreign employees exchanged coffee, celebrated New Year together. German experts taught technology, Chinese workers learned technology, respecting each other and progressing together. "Shared Beauty" has been written into SAIC Motor Group's genes since then.
SAIC Motor Group never builds "Ecological Islands".
From the Santana localization community in the 1980s to renewing with Volkswagen early in 2024 until 2040, opening the Joint Venture 2.0 era; from launching Shangjie with Huawei, co-creating smart driving deeply with Momenta, to building Internet cars with Ali Zebrant, cooperating with ByteDance Doubao for Large AI Models, making phone-vehicle interconnection with OPPO — SAIC's ecosystem is like a grassland with ten thousand horses galloping, inclusive of all runners.
The 100 millionth user was precisely Momenta CEO Cao Xudong. Partners became car owners, not a coincidence, but the most vivid proof of "Unity".
Cao Xudong said: "IM and Momenta have been 'Founding Lighthouse Partners' from the very beginning of brand birth, back-to-back, heart-to-heart." Now, Audi E7X will become Audi's globally first vehicle to implement L3 Level Autonomous Driving landing. ID.ERA 9X globally launched first with Momenta R7 Reinforcement Learning World Model. Unity allows SAIC to go from "Running Behind" to "Running Side-by-Side", then to "Defining Standards".
Ambition — Innovate and Open Up, Embark on a New Journey
What is scorching ambition? In 2014, when State Leaders inspected SAIC Motor Group, they pointed out: "Developing New Energy Vehicles is the only way for China to move from a big automotive country to a powerful automotive country." This sentence pointed the direction for SAIC Motor Group — not only to get bigger and stronger in China, but more to walk into the center of the world stage. Twelve years later, SAIC Motor Group gave the loudest answer with 100 million vehicles.
Along this road, SAIC Motor Group released the overseas "Glocal Strategy" in 2025 — Global + Local, moving from single product export to systematic globalization, deep localization, and full-scenario commercial solution output. From "Borrowing Ships" to "Building Ships", from "Product Going Overseas" to "Value Chain Going Overseas", every step is widening the boundaries of ambition.
Now, ambition bears fruits. MG has been champion of Chinese brands in Europe for 11 consecutive years. In 2025, European annual sales broke 300,000 vehicles, becoming the first Chinese automotive brand to break one million cumulative sales in Europe.
Anji Logistics owns 42 RoRo ships, 8 international routes covering Southeast Asia, Europe, Americas — Chinese cars finally have their own "Ocean Fleet".
Semi-solid-state battery, Hybrid+ Hybrid Technology globally launched for the first time, won high praise from European media in Frankfurt, technology began to output in reverse.
And the first 100 millionth delivered IM LS9 Hyper is the collector of this ambition. It is not the end, but the starting line of SAIC Motor Group's "Second Startup".
In January-April 2026, SAIC Motor Group's overseas sales rose 50.2% year-on-year, it used solid growth to drive "Chinese Intelligence Manufacturing" to every corner of the world.
Conclusion
100 million vehicles, SAIC Motor Group used 70 years to write the most heavy stroke in China's automotive industry. And these five hearts are the simple base color displayed by this enterprise.
Numbers will be constantly refreshed, but the 70-year gathered scorching record of "100 Million" is enough to illuminate every journey in the next 100 million.
Standing at the new starting point of 100 million vehicles, SAIC Motor Group's story has just turned a new chapter.
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