Automotive Talk News｜May 28, under the gaze of all within the Shanghai North Bund World Lounge, the ceremony for SAIC Motor to deliver the first 100 millionth user's vehicle was officially held. With the completion of IM LS9Hyper delivery, SAIC Motor's cumulative production and sales successfully surpassed 100 million vehicles, becoming the first automotive enterprise in China's industry to enter the "Hundred-Million-Unit Club".
This global relay delivery linking domestic and overseas is not only the highlight moment of SAIC Motor's over 70 years of deep ploughing in the automotive industry, but also an era microcosm of China's automotive industry going from a stumbling start to walking the world, setting up a new milestone for the development of China's automotive industry.
Looking back at the path, SAIC Motor's development trajectory has always resonated in sync with the growth of China's automotive industry. In 1955, the Shanghai Internal Combustion Engine Parts Manufacturing Company was established, unveiling the curtain of Shanghai's automotive industry development. In 1958, the first generation of automobile workers, relying on hands and hammers, created the "Phoenix" brand sedan, achieving a zero breakthrough in Shanghai sedan manufacturing in one move.
In the over 70 years, SAIC Motor has taken one step at a time, fully witnessed and promoted China's automotive industry completing a leap-and-bound transformation from nothing to something, from weak to strong, from following via joint ventures to leading independently.
After Reform and Opening Up, SAIC Motor was the first to open the door to foreign cooperation. In 1983, Santana officially went off the production line, opening a new chapter of domestic automotive joint venture cooperation; in 1997, SAIC-GM was landed, took only 23 months to complete factory construction and vehicle production, created the industry-renowned "Shanghai Speed".
While accumulating technology and experience through joint venture cooperation, SAIC Motor never gave up the original intention of independent development. In 2006, Roewe brand was born, blowing the bugle for independent brand assault; in 2016, the world's first Internet Roewe RX5 was launched, was the first to integrate smart connectivity into mass mobility; in 2020, high-end intelligent electric brand IM Motors was established, anchoring high-end pure electric and high-end intelligent tracks, completing the comprehensive advancement of the brand matrix towards new energy and intelligence.
In the over 70-year journey, "Knows Cars, Knows You" is the core user philosophy consistently pursued by SAIC Motor. So-called "Knows Cars", is the endless research and breakthrough on core technologies; "Knows You", is transforming frontier technology into high-quality mobility experience within reach. From Santana localization assault, to deep technology co-creation in the Joint Venture 2.0 stage.
From the first-generation Internet car, to the landing of frontier technologies such as full-steer-by-wire chassis, solid-state batteries, and in-car AI large models, SAIC Motor's every technological iteration, balances hardcore strength and user needs. Behind the 100 million production and sales figures, lies trust from 100 million users, and also is the heavy answer sheet SAIC Motor delivered by sticking to its original intention.
The 100 millionth model delivered this time, IM LS9Hyper, is considered a masterpiece of SAIC Motor's over 70 years of technology accumulation, and also marks SAIC Motor officially leading the new "Three Major Components" development direction for new energy vehicles. The car is equipped with the same level's first full-steer-by-wire four-wheel steering chassis, high-end intelligent driving hardware of 520-line ultra-vision LiDAR paired with Nvidia Thor chip, and full-domain 800V high-voltage platform and Star Super Range Extender System, hardware architecture fully supports continuous upgrades of L3 and above high-end autonomous driving.
In terms of power, SAIC Gold Label Hurricane Tri-motor support, allows the vehicle to join the Performance 3-Second Club; in the safety field, IM jointly launched the "Endogenous Security" technology globally with Zijin Mountain Laboratory, taking automotive safety from traditional physical protection to information and system safety levels, fortifying the automotive safety defense line in the intelligent era.
It is worth mentioning, SAIC Motor's global 100 millionth user is Momenta CEO Cao Xudong, and Momenta is exactly SAIC Motor's core strategic partner in the intelligent driving field. From a partner of technology co-creation, to a car owner personally choosing the product, this identity transformation, is not only the best verification of the depth of technical cooperation between the two sides, but also highlights the strong attraction of SAIC Motor's intelligent automotive ecosystem.
The birth of the 100 million-unit achievement relies on SAIC Motor's perfect full value-chain system and diversified brand matrix. Currently SAIC Motor has built six business sectors: complete vehicles, parts, mobility services, auto finance, international operations, and innovative technology, forming a closed-loop development ecosystem.
Market data shows, SAIC's cumulative sales from January-April 2026 reached 1.302 million units, topping the sales chart of Chinese automakers for four consecutive months.
Among which independent brand sales reached 910,000 units, accounting for nearly 70%, New energy vehicle sales 412,000 units, Overseas sales 459,000 units, year-on-year growth rate as high as 50.2%, Independent brands, New Energy, and Overseas sectors all exerted force comprehensively, growth momentum is strong.
In this global relay delivery event, over 10 complete vehicle brands under SAIC Motor and 19 models were launched simultaneously, covering all travel scenarios. SAIC Passenger Cars, Wuling, Maxus, Hongyan, Sunwin and other independent brands bloomed at multiple points, products covering passenger cars, commercial trucks, passenger buses, etc.; Joint venture brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Buick focused on displaying "Joint Venture 2.0" transformation results.
Volkswagen ID.ERA9X equipped with Momenta's latest intelligent driving model, delivery volume in the first month of launch exceeded 7,000 units; Audi E7X rushed to become the brand's first L3 autonomous production vehicle globally; Buick Vision E7 built on a new architecture, sales broke 10,000 in one month of launch, Joint venture brands achieved a brand-new breakthrough in electrification and intelligence tracks.
This delivery event spanned mountains and seas, Domestic cities such as Nanjing, Liuzhou, Taiyuan, and overseas countries such as UK, Indonesia, Singapore linked up simultaneously, vividly demonstrating SAIC Motor's profound global layout strength. As a pioneer of Chinese automakers "going global", SAIC Motor has laid out over 100 parts production bases overseas, over 3,000 dealer outlets, built three overseas R&D centers and four complete vehicle manufacturing bases; its subsidiary Anji Logistics owns 42 Ro-ro ships and 8 international routes, shipping network reaching the globe.
Nowadays, SAIC Motor products and services cover over 170 countries and regions, overseas cumulative sales broke 7 million units.
Its MG brand has even become a benchmark for Chinese car overseas expansion, ranking first in European sales of Chinese brands for 11 consecutive years, 2025 European annual sales broke 300,000 units, and is also the first Chinese automotive brand to break one million cumulative sales in Europe and UK markets. Relying on the "Glocal Global Localization" strategy, SAIC Motor is accelerating from purely product overseas, turning towards value-chain overseas of technology, capacity, and service integration, making "Chinese Intelligence" stand firm in the global market.
Always centering on users, is the core code for SAIC Motor to transcend the era cycle. At this delivery gala where users are the protagonists, car owners' stories of different identities and fields, interpret the deep connotation of "Knows Cars, Knows You". Knowledge creators, professional athletes, public welfare bloggers, ordinary family users, logistics practitioners……
Consumers from all walks of life choose SAIC vehicles, their travel needs, life concepts, and SAIC Motor's product concepts merge and coexist, making cold industrial products possess warm humanistic warmth, and also giving the 100 million production and sales figures the most vivid footnotes.
Production and sales exceeding 100 million, is not the end point, but a new starting point for SAIC Motor facing the "Second Entrepreneurship" of the intelligent electric era. As early as 2014, SAIC Motor followed the national strategy closely, and was the first to comprehensively transform towards the new energy track. Experiencing 12 years of deep ploughing, SAIC Motor completed the transition from single-point breakthrough to whole-category, whole-market coordinated development, Independent and Joint ventures advancing together, Passenger cars and commercial vehicles flying together, Domestic market and Overseas market exerting force bidirectionally.
From the difficult start in 1955, to production and sales exceeding 100 million in 2026; from the first "Phoenix" brand sedan appearing, to brands like IM, MG galloping globally. Over 70 years through wind and rain, SAIC Motor witnessed the rise of China's automotive industry, and also promoted the industry forward with its own hard work.
Standing at the 100 million-unit new starting point, SAIC Motor will continue to adhere to the philosophy of technological innovation and user-first, walking hand in hand with billions of users globally, continuing to break through on the new intelligent electric track, writing a brand new chapter for China's automotive industry going global.
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