SAIC Motor

SAIC Motor Corp., Ltd. (formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is a renowned automotive brand that offers a wide range of products and services. With a strong presence in the global market.

 History 

SAIC began operations in 1955 as one of the first Chinese automotive companies. In Maoist China it focused on the production of one of the first cars of local design in the form of the Shanghai SH760 limousine line produced from 1964 to 1991.

The first cooperation with foreign capital, which made its technology available to SAIC, was established in 1984 through an agreement with the German Volkswagen, establishing the first joint-venture - Shanghai-Volkswagen. The breakthrough year was 1978, when, as part of the opening of the Chinese economy, purchasing foreign production lines and obtaining approval from state authorities for investment outlays.

The 1990s brought intensive development to the SAIC concern in terms of expenditure on the production of local variants of Volkswagen models, as well as partnerships with other foreign concerns. In 1997, another joint-venture was established in the form of the SAIC-GM alliance, which enabled the start of operations in China of American General Motors brands such as Buick and Cadillac and then also Chevrolet.

In 2004, SAIC Motor decided to buy its first foreign company, acquiring the South Korean SUV manufacturer SsangYong Motor in 2004, managing it for the next year 2010, after which there were conflicts of interest and allegations of intellectual property theft the cooperation ended with the sale of the South Korean manufacturer to the Indian Mahindra.

 Acquisition of MG Rover Group 
At the beginning of 2005, SAIC Group established cooperation with the crisis-ridden British concern MG Rover Group, obtaining the rights to launch the production of the Rover 25 and 75 models in China. The crisis of the consortium from Longbridge managing the MG and Rover brands ended in bankruptcy in the second quarter of 2005, and the bankruptcy estate was put up for auction. SAIC was interested in purchasing it, but the offer was ultimately outbid by another Chinese company, Nanjing Automobile, which acquired the group in July 2005.

Thanks to the cooperation concluded shortly before the bankruptcy of MG Rover Group, SAIC retained the rights to introduce its first own brand Roewe, which was a direct continuation of the British Rover brand. Its first model was a modernized Rover 75 under the name Roewe 750. In 2007, SAIC decided to merge with the previously competitive concern Nanjing Automobile, thanks to which Roewe was also joined by a second brand with British origins in the form of MG Motor, which was a continuation of the former British MG Cars.

 LDV and Maxus 
At the end of 2009, SAIC Group decided to acquire another bankrupt British automotive company LDV Group, taking over the rights to produce the only vehicle produced by this company in the form of a commercial vehicle LDV Maxus. The car returned to production in China in 2011 under the new Maxus brand, which, analogously to Roewe and MG, took on the role of a direct continuation of the former British LDV.

In the following years of the second decade of the 21st century, the offer of Maxus, the third independent brand of the SAIC concern, became diversified, in addition to commercial vehicles, also introducing SUVs into production and pickup. In 2016, the LDV brand returned to the market as LDV Automotive, which took over as the export name for Maxusa products for the UK and Australian markets.

 Global expansion 
After gradually developing its foreign operations, including in South America, at the turn of the 2010s and 2020s, SAIC began to expand into large global markets such as Western Europe, East Asia, India or Australia using the MG brand.

In line with its expansion, SAIC actively pursues a badge engineering policy, diversifying MG's offering with Roewe products in the Middle East and East Asia, Maxus in India and Thailand, as well as Roewe and Rising Auto in the Western European market. In July 2023, SAIC entered into a strategic partnership with Audi, lending its electric vehicle platform to IM Motors. In this way, the German company saved on the subsequent costs of building models for the Chinese market by using local technology.

Brands
SAIC sells vehicles under a variety of brands. Brand names that are exclusive to SAIC include IM, Maxus, MG, Rising, Roewe,  Baojun, Wuling, Hongyan, Sunwin

 IM 

SAIC launched a luxury EV brand "IM" (dubbed "Zhiji Motor" in Chinese) jointly developed with  Shanghai's Pudong New Area government and Alibaba on January 13, 2021. According to SAIC Motor, "IM" stands for Intelligence in Motion.

 MG 

MG Motor designs (in UK and Shanghai), develops and markets cars sold under the MG marque while vehicle manufacturing takes place at its factories in China, Thailand, Indonesia and India. MG Motor is the largest importer of Chinese made cars into the United Kingdom.

 Rising Auto 

Rising Auto (Feifan, 飞凡汽车), formerly R Brand, is an offshoot of SAIC's Roewe brand dedicated to new energy vehicles and intelligent vehicles. Early products are rebadged Roewes with the R7 crossover being the first original product. The upcoming following product is the F7 compact executive sedan.

 Roewe 

Roewe was introduced by SAIC in 2006. It is sold in most export markets outside China under the MG Motor marque.

Maxus

Maxus was formed in 2011 following the acquisition of LDV Group by SAIC in 2010, and produces MPVs, pickup trucks, and SUVs for both domestic sale and global export. 

 Wuling/Baojun (SAIC-GM-Wuling) 

A joint venture between SAIC, General Motors, and Guangxi Automobile Group (previously Wuling Group) Based in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in southwestern China, it makes commercial and consumer vehicles sold in China under the Wuling and Baojun brands. SGMW has recently found great success as an electric vehicle manufacturer — as of 2021, the venture's Wuling Hongguang Mini EV city car is the best-selling electric car in China by volume. 

Hongyan

SAIC Hongyan was established in January 2003 as Chongqing Hongyan and traces its origins back to a Chinese manufacturer established in 1965. The company is focused on producing heavy trucks.

 Sunwin 

SAIC Sunwin is a brand specialized in producing passenger buses and trolleybuses.

 Nanjing Iveco Auto Co Ltd ("New Naveco") 

In 2021, SAIC announced an increase in its holdings of Nanjing Iveco (Naveco). SAIC's subsidiary, Nanjing Automobile Group holds a 50% stake, while SAIC itself holds 30.1%, and IVECO S.P.A. holds 19.9%. SAIC's ownership of Naveco has now risen to 80.1%, making the Italian brand a strategic investor.

 Joint ventures 
SAIC participates in cooperative efforts with foreign automakers that see the products of large international companies such as General Motors and Volkswagen made and sold in China.

The following is only a partial list.

 Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive 
A joint venture between SAIC and Volkswagen Group. It was founded in 1984 and produces cars under the Volkswagen, Skoda, and Audi brands. 

 Shanghai General Motors Corporation 

This joint venture between SAIC and General Motors manufactures and sells Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac brand automobiles in Mainland China.

 SAIC-Charoen Pokphand 
SAIC produces MG Motors vehicles through this joint venture with Charoen Pokphand for their Thailand subsidiary.

 Technomous 
Established with Austrian technology provider TTTech in 2018 for Intelligent and Autonomous Driving solutions.

Notes

Category:Automobile companies of China
Category:Shanghai