SAIC Motor Cumulative Production and Sales Surpass 100 Million: The "Quantitative Change" and "Qualitative Change" Behind 100 Million Vehicles

May 28, Shanghai North Bund World Living Room, SAIC Motor handed over an IM LS9 Hyper to Momenta CEO Cao Xudong. This special user is not only a core strategic partner of SAIC in the intelligent driving field but also has become SAIC's first 100 millionth global car owner. From 1958, when workers hammered out the first "Phoenix" brand sedan with hammers, to today when the 100,000,000th vehicle went off the assembly line, SAIC Motor has become the first automotive group in China to break 100 million cumulative production and sales. This is not just a leap in numbers, but also a microcosm of China's automotive industry moving from "scale expansion" to "quality leadership."

100 million vehicles is a periodic answer sheet for SAIC's 70 years of development history, and also a vivid footnote for China's automotive industry developing from nothing to something, from weak to strong. In 1955, the Shanghai Internal Combustion Engine Parts Manufacturing Company was established; in 1958, the first "Phoenix" brand sedan went off the line; in 1983, the Santana began the joint venture cooperation; in 1997, Shanghai GM created the "Shanghai Speed" of building a factory and producing vehicles in 23 months; in 2006, the independent brand Roewe was born; in 2016, the world's first Internet car was launched; in 2020, the high-end intelligent electric brand IM Motors was established. Running through this process is SAIC's role evolution from "joint venture cooperation" to "independent innovation" to "technology export". And the IM LS9 Hyper delivered as the first 100 millionth vehicle is a concentrated embodiment of this accumulated capability: full-line steer-by-wire four-wheel steering, 520-line LiDAR, NVIDIA Thor chip, all-domain 800V high-voltage platform, Gold Label Hurricane three-motor — these configurations point to the same signal: SAIC is participating in high-end market competition in a way that "technology defines luxury."

Behind 100 million vehicles is the synergistic effort of SAIC's full brand matrix. From January to April 2026, SAIC's cumulative sales reached 1.302 million units, ranking as the sales champion of Chinese car companies for four consecutive months. Among them, the sales share of independent brands was nearly 70%, new energy vehicle sales were 412,000 units, overseas market sales were 459,000 units, a year-on-year surge of 50.2%. From Shangjie Z7 to Wuling Starlight 560, from Roewe M7 to MG4 Semi-Solid State Battery version, from Hongyan Heavy Truck to Sunwin Electric Bus, independent brands cover all scenarios such as personal travel, commercial operations, and logistics transportation. The joint venture segment also revealed the periodic results of "Joint Venture 2.0": SAIC Volkswagen ID. ERA 9X delivery broke 7,000 units within one month of listing, entering the top three of large high-end SUVs over 300,000 with extended range; AUDI E7X plans to become Audi's first L3 level autonomous driving landed model worldwide; Buick Zhijing E7 delivery broke 100,000 units within one month of listing. Independent and joint ventures "flying together with two wings" is becoming SAIC's unique structural advantage distinguishing it from other car companies.

More noteworthy is SAIC's globalization rhythm. On the day of the delivery ceremony, the scene switched from the Shanghai main venue to Nanjing, Liuzhou, Taiyuan, and then to the UK, Indonesia, Singapore — this is an unprecedented narrative method for Chinese car brands. SAIC is a pioneer of Chinese car companies "going out": owning over 100 parts production bases overseas, over 3,000 dealer networks, building 3 major R&D innovation centers such as London and 4 production centers in Thailand, Indonesia, India, Pakistan; Anji Logistics owns 42 roll-on/roll-off ships, 8 international routes covering Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Products and services are distributed in over 170 countries and regions, with overseas cumulative sales breaking 7 million vehicles. MG has been the European sales champion of Chinese brands for 11 consecutive years; in 2025, European annual sales broke 300,000 units, becoming the first Chinese car brand to break 1 million cumulative sales in Europe and the UK. In 2025, SAIC released the overseas "Glocal Strategy" (Global + Local), accelerating the shift from "product going overseas" to "value chain going overseas".

100 million vehicles is a concentrated realization of 100 million users' trust. At the delivery site, Dedao APP founder Luo Zhenyu, as the first experience officer of Huajing S, went from praising Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving in the New Year's Eve lecture to entering the factory to witness the off-line; former German footballer Yang Chen chose ID.ERA 9X, because its golden extended range coincided with long-termism; charity blogger Liu Jia shaved the hair of left-behind children in mountain areas for five consecutive years, Buick provided assistance immediately, she was moved by Zhijing E7's "full score cockpit". These stories collectively point to SAIC's brand concept of "Understand Cars, Understand You" — understand cars is an extreme pursuit of core technology; understand you is landing technology into user-perceivable experiences.

From the first Phoenix brand in 1958 to the IM LS9 Hyper in 2026; from the first user to the first 100 millionth user; from joint venture cooperation to technology export — SAIC's 100 million vehicles is a witness of China's automotive industry from "bringing in" to "going out". When 100 million vehicles become history, the real challenge lies in: how to make the "gold content" of the next 100 million vehicles surpass the "quantity content". In the second half of smart electric vehicles, the deep construction of system capability, global layout, and user ecosystem will be the key to whether SAIC can move from "scale first" to "brand first".