On the path of transforming from a major automotive country to a strong automotive powerhouse, the wave of intelligent electric vehicles represented by China is sweeping across the globe with tremendous force.
In the new arena of new energy and intelligence, Chinese automotive companies need not only to move quickly but also to ensure stability and long-term progress.
In response to the glorious mission bestowed by the times, as a leading automotive listed company in China, SAIC Group is firmly focused on being "user-centric," accelerating the development of the next generation of intelligent electric vehicles, and transforming into a user-oriented high-tech enterprise emphasizing technological upgrades, global business expansion, premium branding, and exceptional user experience.
On October 17, at the Fourth Automotive Quality Technology Conference organized by the China Consumer Goods Quality Safety Promotion Association and jointly hosted by SAIC Group and SAIC-GM-Wuling, SAIC Group Chairman Wang Xiaoqiu emphasized, “Building a strong automotive nation and a quality nation is the glorious mission assigned to us by the times.” He noted, “In the face of the burgeoning trends of electrification and intelligence in the global automotive industry, we are deepening our quality management to align with the new era and new vehicles. This action demonstrates that Chinese automotive enterprises are actively implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important directive of the ‘three transformations,’ promoting the industry to continually achieve qualitative changes from ‘manufacturing to creation,’ leaps from ‘speed to quality,’ and transitions from ‘products to brands.’”
SAIC Group Chairman Wang Xiaoqiu
From the Three Electrifications to Intelligent Solutions, SAIC Group Builds a "Hexagonal" R&D Capability
Behind this statement is SAIC Group's years of diligent research and effort to fulfill the dream of becoming a strong automotive nation.
In 2022, SAIC officially launched a foundational and common platform technology for electric intelligent vehicles. The mass production application of the first-generation “technology platform” laid the technical groundwork for SAIC's participation in the new competitive market, helping automotive products achieve internationally leading levels and significantly empowering SAIC’s self-owned brands to continuously break through upwards, effectively supporting SAIC to become the first Chinese automotive enterprise to reach sales of double millions for both new energy vehicles and overseas markets.
This May, SAIC released its second-generation “technology platform.”
This set of technology integrates specific user experiences and use scenarios, swiftly reconstructing advanced intelligent driving, integrated cockpit, digital chassis, and high-efficiency driving functionalities. According to reports, based on the second-generation technology platform, SAIC Group will launch more vehicles that meet user needs with better quality and higher safety.
The all-new “Nebula” dedicated platform for pure electric vehicles serves as the core of the second-generation technology platform. The application of a drive-by-wire digital chassis improves the vehicle's braking response time by 40% and enhances overall driving stability limits by 20%.
The all-new “Everest” mechatronic vehicle architecture features a higher fuel-to-electricity conversion rate. As the first Chinese automotive enterprise to achieve carbon emissions below 100g/km in Europe, products based on the “Everest” architecture will also meet Euro 7 emission standards.
SAIC adheres to a diversified technological approach. The new “Galaxy” integrated electric-hydrogen vehicle architecture focuses on the usage scenarios of hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles, pioneering a range-extended hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicle architecture scheme.
In terms of intelligence, differing from peers’ concepts of “domain controllers,” SAIC's full-stack 3.0 intelligent vehicle solution employs a centralized computing unit (the "brain") combined with a vehicle motion coordination controller (VMC) as the "small brain" for collaborative development, fully supporting the end-side applications of large models and facilitating the rollout of the country’s first mass-production-oriented L3 autonomous driving solution.
Firmly Committing to Quality, Establishing the "Quality SAIC" Brand in the New Arena
Technological advancements are aimed at genuinely enhancing quality and experience, not merely showcasing technology but truly improving user experience.
Our understanding of intelligent electric vehicle technology should not remain at the superficial level of recognizing them merely as “refrigerators, color TVs, and large sofas” to gain a substantial market share at low prices; rather, quality requirements should be prioritized.
According to a recent automotive quality report released by “Car Quality Network,” although the number of issues in the new energy vehicle industry has decreased this year, the level of complaints has actually increased.
Among these, “intelligent cockpits” and “driving systems” are the modules with poorer quality performance—ironically, these are precisely the areas where automotive companies often boast of their technological leadership. Behind numerous claims of “industry firsts” and “leading in the field” on PowerPoint presentations, the automotive industry might need some sober reflection.
This is also an area where SAIC Group has been pondering rationally for many years. Adhering to the user-first business philosophy, SAIC is committed to following the "quality path," meeting the demands of global consumers with robust product and service quality.
Wang Xiaoqiu stated, “In the face of the trend towards electrification and intelligence in the automotive sector, SAIC is accelerating breakthroughs in innovative technologies like solid-state batteries, advanced intelligent driving, and smart chassis, while actively improving software quality management, utilizing digital technologies to iterate and upgrade the quality management system, striving to provide global users with ‘more reliable, more comfortable, and more enjoyable’ product use and service experiences.”
For instance, in product development, SAIC is strengthening quality standards and product validation, especially for electric intelligent vehicles, focusing on the source of development to enhance capabilities in software and chips, while strictly adhering to product quality thresholds.
In production, SAIC effectively employs new methods and tools such as artificial intelligence, tightening process control, and enhancing quality supervision over manufacturing aspects including production changes, supplier quality, and software integration.
In marketing, SAIC focuses on service quality, stands in users' shoes, maintains urgency for user needs, and aims to elevate user experience in detail. SAIC's self-owned brands Roewe, Feifan, and MG have launched the “Super Safe Core Commitment” policy and also introduced industry-first guarantees like “zero fire protection,” “one burn, one compensation,” and “lifetime warranty on the three electrifications.”
Reportedly, by the third quarter of 2024, SAIC Group’s terminal delivery volume reached 3.23 million units, continuing to maintain its leading position in China; the terminal delivery volume of new energy vehicles reached 886,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 29.5%, ranking second among Chinese automotive enterprises; in the overseas market, the terminal delivery volume reached 806,000 units, a year-on-year growth of 5.5%, continuing to rank among the industry’s top.
