Suda (SD) is a new energy vehicle brand under Henan Suda Electric Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. The brand's operating entity was established in September 2010 and is located in the eastern district of the Economic Development Zone, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province. Suda is a research and development enterprise that integrates complete vehicle and parts development, process design, manufacturing management, and sales. It possesses a complete process and quality system, has established cooperative relationships with numerous well-known new energy vehicle research institutions at home and abroad, and has reserved a large number of forward-looking technologies. It is committed to building safe, intelligent, energy-saving, durable, and economical new energy vehicle products. The company adheres to the vision of "becoming a world-class new energy vehicle manufacturer," takes "building cars for people all over the world" as its mission, and adopts "focusing on products, researching technology, being based on the whole country, and advancing both domestically and internationally" as its strategic development direction.
The brand employs over 490 professional and technical personnel. It has successively established the Pure Electric Vehicle Public Technology R&D Design Center, unique in Henan Province, the Henan Province Electric Vehicle Power System Engineering Research Center, the Henan Suda Pure Electric Sedan Academician Workstation, and a Postdoctoral Mobile Station, among other enterprise self-research institutions. It possesses complete new energy vehicle design, development, prototyping, and testing capabilities. The founder is Dr. Li Fuhuo, who holds 53.48% and 40.96% equity in Suda Technology and Suda Automotive, respectively. At its peak, Suda Technology held about 33.42% equity in Suda Automotive.
Initial Stage (2010–2016): Suda's development in the early stage of its establishment was not smooth. In April 2012, Suda developed its first pure electric sedan, which was reported by the media as "Henan Province's first independently developed pure electric sedan." However, in fact, between September 2010, when Suda was established, and July 2013, publicly disclosed information about car manufacturing was almost blank. In the first half of 2015, the enterprise began to delay employee wages and supplier payments. When recruiting agent distributors, it was suspected of engaging in illegal fundraising. In 2016, Suda Automotive's production and manufacturing once fell into a stalled state, with only a few prototype sample cars and half-built factories. The outside world called it a "zombie car enterprise."
Qualification Acquisition Stage (2017–2019): On March 28, 2017, Suda's annual production of 100,000 pure electric vehicles project was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, and the enterprise welcomed a turning point in its fate. In December 2018, Suda entered the MIIT public list. On January 4, 2019, Suda officially passed the national Ministry of Industry and Information Technology certification, becoming the 11th new pure electric passenger car production enterprise in the country and the first in Henan Province to obtain "dual certification" from the NDRC and MIIT.
Market Sales Stage (2019–2020): On March 20, 2019, Suda Electric Vehicle's first mass-produced vehicle officially rolled off the line, and on March 22, Suda announced the signing of a sales agreement for 230,000 units over three years with Germany, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. On June 27, 2019, Suda's first model was officially launched to the market. According to the plan, in 2019 the company would launch 10 new models to the market, including hatchback models, sedan models, and CROSS models.
Suda's product line is streamlined in scale, mainly focusing on pure electric sedans, while product planning also extends to blue ocean markets such as SUVs and MPVs.
Available Models:
Suda SA01 is Suda's first platform model launched to the market, positioned in the A-class sedan pure electric car market. It features a simple and exquisite appearance, spacious and luxurious interior, and is equipped with an intelligent internet system that supports human-machine voice interaction, remote control, and rich online entertainment functions. The range can reach 370 km, the maximum speed is 150 km/h, and the guide price is 120,000 RMB (after subsidy).
Suda SD01 is positioned as a hatchback pure electric car. It is warm, comfortable, and offers a high cost-performance ratio, making it more suitable for personalized users. Its target group is primarily individual customers, with a guide price of 110,000 RMB (after subsidy).
Both models are platform-developed by Suda, sharing core chassis and three-electric systems. Their range levels are basically consistent, both at 305 km.
Planned Models:
SV01XA is positioned as a pure electric SUV. It offers a larger volume, ample space, a cool appearance, and stronger power. It is an important model for Suda to extend into the mass new energy consumption market. The target users are young consumers, and it was originally planned to be launched in 2020. In addition, Suda also planned CROSS models, A-class sedan driving school models, as well as hatchback modified models and sedan modified models. The long-term plan covers A-class passenger car hatchbacks, sedans, CROSS models, family SUVs, household MPVs, and other sub-segments.
Suda's market sales have a clear B-side dependency characteristic. After being officially launched in June 2019, vehicles were mainly sold to ride-hailing platforms such as Aiyue Travel and Shangche Travel, as well as through procurement of official vehicles by local governments. Based on the official guide price in 2019, Suda sold about 240 vehicles, with customers mainly being Henan local government agencies and internal company employees.
2020 was the brightest stage of Suda's market performance. In May 2020, Suda held a vehicle delivery ceremony in Sanmenxia. Representatives from purchase and lease units from multiple counties in the area, cooperating merchants, and individual customers attended, delivering a total of 1,274 vehicles, of which 971 vehicles were delivered to units and 303 vehicles to individual users. In June 2020, according to national compulsory insurance vehicle insurance data, the Suda SA01 and SD01 ranked 10th in domestic pure electric sedan monthly insurance volume, with 985 vehicles actually sold, and ranked 6th on the "New Car Maker Reliability Index" list. Overall, Suda's product quality and technical parameters received some user recognition in the early stage. However, its overall market performance presented a trend of "limited starting point – brief leap – rapid decline to basically zero," which still has case study significance for the grassroots promotion of Chinese independent brand new energy vehicles and regional industrial pull.
Suda has maintained considerable accumulation in core new energy vehicle technologies for a long time. According to official disclosures, the enterprise has mastered and applied six core technologies and capabilities, including vehicle integration, vehicle lightweighting, vehicle control systems, power battery systems, drive and control systems, and forward design development. It has cumulatively obtained over 200 patents, of which 28 are authorized invention patents.
Suda has four unique technical advantages in the new energy vehicle field. The first is the Vehicle Active Control System, which can instantly convert the vehicle's working voltage from high voltage to low voltage in the event of a collision during driving. The second is the Intelligent Speed Regulation and Power Upgrade Technology of the Motor and Electronic Control System, which can release different levels of power and energy according to different road conditions to achieve optimal matching of motor output performance. The third is the Balanced Discharge Technology, which allows the system to discharge according to actual needs regardless of how the driver operates. The fourth is the Fast Constant Temperature Charging Technology, which solves the engineering problem of maintaining a high-efficiency charging environment under a wide range of temperature conditions. In terms of more cutting-edge technology reserves, Suda has conducted forward-looking technology development in areas such as assisted driving and unmanned driving (Level 3), hub motors, and fast-charging battery systems.
Suda's overseas layout is mainly aimed at European and "Belt and Road" Initiative markets. Overseas business is promoted through Suda's sales agreement with the German DCKD Company (Sino-German Art and Design Exchange Association). The Suda SA01BC pure electric vehicle and its parts officially passed EU WVTA certification at the beginning of 2020. Suda claimed that it became the first domestic pure electric sedan manufacturer to obtain EU certification on this basis. Suda plans to carry out a globalization layout mainly oriented toward countries along the "Belt and Road" in the future, achieving multi-platform, multi-channel combination marketing. Suda has also participated in the "Blue Container on the New Silk Road" Belt and Road Construction·International Cultural and Economic Exchange Project initiated by enterprises. Participating parties include relevant German departments and multiple countries along the "Belt and Road."
Since 2021, Suda's product information, sales data, and brand activities in the public market have gradually shrunk, and its subsequent development path is not clear. Suda had previously planned to carry out platform-based and modular development. Through various body forms and different styling and configurations, it aimed to target elderly people seeking high cost-performance, middle-aged people seeking practical high-end features, and young people seeking fashionable personality, with differentiated positioning covering the development and manufacturing of hatchbacks, sedans, CROSS models, family SUVs, household MPVs, and other models. According to previous plans, Suda strives to reach a scale of 300,000 to 1 million units within five to ten years, and to set up parts plants, linking the production of passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and special vehicles, driving related industries to achieve an annual output value of over 100 billion RMB. Whether the brand can walk out of the low valley and achieve sustainable market development under a sufficiently open and transparent governance framework will be the core benchmark for judging the value of this Chinese local new energy vehicle brand.
© 2024 Bitauto.com. All Rights Reserved.
Bitauto (www.yiche.com and www.bitauto.com) is one of the most visited automotive websites in China. We provide detailed info on Chinese car brands available in your area. Please note that the information provided on this website is based on publicly available data and is for reference only. It may not be fully updated or accurate at all times.
