When Wang Xiaoqiu handed the unique "100 Millionth Vehicle" premium customized car model from SAIC Group to Momenta CEO Cao Xudong, there was no deliberate emotional countdown on site, nor a constantly jumping digital screen.
That was a collector's commemorative car model specially created for the "100 Millionth Vehicle", quietly displayed under the spotlight. The camera panned over the scene, some raised phones to take photos, some clapped, and others chatted in whispers. Compared to the usual "milestone moments" of many companies, this ceremony seemed even somewhat restrained.
But precisely this restraint made the event of the "100 Millionth Vehicle" itself appear exceptionally authentic.
Because everyone knows, this is not just SAIC's "100 Millionth Vehicle", in a sense, it is also the "100 Millionth Vehicle" of the Chinese automotive industry.
From producing the first Phoenix sedan by the Huangpu River to Chinese carmakers crossing the "100 Million" threshold for the first time today, the Chinese automotive industry took over 70 years. Rather than "how far we've gone", what outsiders care about more is actually another question: After reaching today, where will the Chinese automotive industry go next?
This is also the true meaning of this delivery ceremony. It seemingly looks back at history, but in reality, it always discusses the future.
Industrial Changes Within a Delivery Ceremony
If you look closely at this livestream, you will find an interesting detail: it did not unfold in the manner of a traditional car launch event. There were no long-term data displays, nor dense parameter explanations. Instead, the entire livestream was more like a "relay" constantly switching scenes.
Shanghai, Liuzhou, London, Jakarta, Singapore... different brands, different models, different users, connected into the same narrative.
And these users are not just car buyers in the traditional sense. Some are tech bloggers, some are public welfare creators, some are overseas young users, some are logistics enterprises, and others are founders of intelligent driving companies.
This arrangement itself actually sufficiently explains the changes in the automotive industry today. In the past, cars were more standardized industrial products, but today, they are beginning to become an entry point connecting lifestyles, technology ecosystems, and intelligent capabilities.
So, why is the 100 Millionth Vehicle the IM LS9 Hyper?
Because it is not a model that solely emphasizes sales significance, nor is it an old car symbolizing "historical collection", but a smart electric vehicle representing SAIC's most core direction today.
It integrates not only new energy powertrains, but also intelligent driving, software architecture, AI interaction, and ecosystem synergy capabilities. In other words, SAIC did not keep the "100 Millionth Vehicle" merely as a tribute to the past, but clearly pointed it towards the future.
The Automotive Industry Is No Longer Traditional Manufacturing
During the livestream, SAIC Group Vice President and Chief Engineer Zu Shijie reviewed SAIC's 70-year development process. He actually did not over-emphasize the keyword "100 Millionth Vehicle", but summarized the whole process into three stages: exploration in the beginning before Reform and Opening-up, joint venture cooperation after Reform and Opening-up, and the development of independent brands starting around 2000.
From Phoenix, to Santana, to Roewe, MG, IM, this actually corresponds to the tasks of different stages of the Chinese automotive industry. First, it was building an industrial foundation; later, it was learning the modern automotive industry system; and subsequently, it was forming its own R&D, brand, and technology capabilities.
And today, the Chinese automotive industry has clearly entered a new stage. In this stage, the question is no longer "whether we can make cars", but: Who should ultimately define the car of the future?
And the various SAIC cars delivered during the livestream may be the answer given by SAIC.
They represent SAIC's judgment, and even the Chinese automotive industry's judgment on the direction of competition in the next stage: Intelligent electric vehicles are becoming a new core competitive field for car companies.
Automotive industry expert Zhao Fuquan said a sentence worth pondering repeatedly: "The automotive industry is no longer traditional manufacturing."
He said that the current automotive industry has changed from the originally simple upstream and downstream relationships into an ecosystemized industry. It involves not only manufacturing but also communication, transportation, urban construction, AI, and the integration of more intelligent industries.
This sentence is the core of the entire industry's change today.
In the past, the most important capabilities of a car were the engine, transmission, and chassis; later, it was the battery, motor, and electronic control; but today, what more and more consumers truly perceive has become intelligent driving, cockpit interaction, software experience, AI capabilities, and continuous OTA iterations of the whole vehicle.
Cars are turning from "mechanical products" into "smart terminals", and this change is also reshaping the automotive enterprises themselves.
Joint Venture 2.0, Not Just "Cooperation"
In the livestream, Zu Shijie said that after entering the intelligent electric era, SAIC's cooperation with global brands has entered the "co-creation" stage. This is actually very important, because for many years in the past, when outsiders talked about the Chinese automotive industry, they always mentioned a sentence: "Market for Technology".
But today, this logic has begun to change. The Chinese market is no longer just a place for global car companies to sell products; it is beginning to become a place to define products.
The reason is actually simple: the world's most complete new energy industry chain is in China; the most fierce intelligent driving competition is in China; the largest smart electric vehicle consumption market is also in China. Therefore, whether it is Volkswagen, Audi, or General Motors, they must all re-understand the Chinese market.
This change is already very obvious in the models delivered that day. AUDI E7X, Buick Zhijing Family, Volkswagen ID. ERA 9X. These products are no longer simple "global model localization" as in the past; they are increasingly deeply integrated into China's intelligent ecosystem, Chinese user needs, and Chinese technical capabilities.
So, talking about "Joint Ventures" today is actually not one-way input, but both parties jointly defining the next generation of products. In a sense, this is also a reflection of the changing position of the Chinese automotive industry.
In the past, the Chinese automotive industry was mostly "learning"; today, Chinese enterprises began to participate in "defining"; and in the future, the Chinese automotive industry will further participate in shaping global intelligent mobility rules and technology directions.
From "Scale" to "Capability"
Interestingly, in the livestream, whether it was Zu Shijie or several experts, they all repeatedly mentioned one word: Ecosystem.
Zu Shijie mentioned that SAIC and Huawei actually started cooperating very early, with a lot of communication since the 5G communication era. Later, with the development of intelligent cars, the cooperation between the two sides naturally became deeper and deeper.
He said that car products have already undergone great changes now; communication technology, internet technology, and electronics technology will all be used in cars. "No single company can do it all." Therefore, we need to jointly make the Chinese new energy intelligent car ecosystem well.
This sentence is actually very realistic. Because in the intelligent car era, it is already very difficult to rely on a single enterprise to build all capabilities.
In the past, traditional car companies were more like a closed system, with the core of competition being manufacturing scale and supply chain efficiency; but today, the automotive industry is becoming more like an open platform. Chips, AI, algorithms, software, cloud, maps, communication... every link requires a new collaborative relationship.
This also means that the Chinese automotive industry is moving from "scale competition" to "capability competition".
In the past years, the Chinese automotive industry has already proved one thing: China can build an automotive industry of world-class scale. The "100 Millionth Vehicle" itself is a concentrated embodiment of this industrial capability.
But today's problem has already changed. Next, the contest is no longer just output, sales, and market share, but who can establish truly sustainable technical capabilities; who can form a global brand; who can master the discourse power of the next generation of intelligent cars; and who can truly integrate manufacturing, software, AI, and ecosystem.
Therefore, today's competition is becoming less and less like the past "company versus company" competition, and more like "ecosystem versus ecosystem" competition. Who can organize more capabilities, who can form more efficient synergy, who can truly establish long-term advantages.
This is also why, the 100 Millionth User choosing Cao Xudong appears symbolic. Because it actually expresses: One of the most important competitive strengths of the future automotive industry is ecosystem capability. And the reason SAIC chose IM LS9 Hyper as the 100 Millionth Vehicle to deliver is precisely because it is itself a product of this capability system.
It is not the result of a single manufacturing capability, but the result of smart driving, AI algorithms, software platforms, supply chain systems, and user data collaborating together.
In a sense, it is more like a "mobile smart terminal", not just a car in the traditional sense.
This is also why, although the entire delivery ceremony constantly reviewed history, it always carried a strong sense of "futurity". Because today's Chinese automotive industry has already reached a new node.
The future will not arrive automatically; it is shaped through repeated technology iterations, industry synergies, and user choices.
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