From its birth in 1955 to 2026, Shanghai's automotive industry has evolved from nothing to something, from weak to strong. Guided by the "Understanding Cars, Understanding You Better" philosophy, it has formed a flourishing scenario with independent and joint ventures, passenger and commercial vehicles, and domestic and overseas markets.
On May 28, 2026, the "Global 100 Millionth User Delivery Ceremony" of SAIC Group was held at the Shanghai North Bund World Living Room. Over ten vehicle brands and nineteen models under SAIC coordinated globally through "Global Relay Delivery." SAIC Group thereby became the first Chinese automotive enterprise to accumulate production and sales exceeding 100 million vehicles, creating a new milestone.
In 1955, the Shanghai Internal Combustion Engine Parts Manufacturing Company was established, marking the start of Shanghai's automotive industry. In 1958, workers hammered out the first "Phoenix" sedan, achieving a "zero breakthrough" in Shanghai sedan manufacturing. For over seventy years, SAIC has witnessed and promoted the entire process of China's automotive industry evolving from nothing to something, from weak to strong: In 1983, the Santana rolled off the line, opening joint venture cooperation; In 1997, Shanghai GM was established, creating the "Shanghai Speed" of building a factory and producing cars in 23 months; In 2006, the independent brand Roewe was born, and in 2016, the world's first internet car, Roewe RX5, was launched; In 2020, the intelligent electric brand IM Motors was established.
Running through this journey is the "Understanding Cars, Understanding You Better" user philosophy that SAIC has always upheld. From the Santana localization community to Joint Venture 2.0 technology co-creation, from internet cars to full wire-controlled chassis, solid/semi-solid batteries, and AI large models in cars—every leap forward is an upgrade in "Understanding Cars" capabilities and an inheritance of the original intention of "Understanding You".
SAIC Group Global 100,000,000th User Delivery, IM LS9 Hyper
The 100 millionth vehicle delivered by SAIC Group is the IM LS9 Hyper, a masterpiece consolidating over 70 years of SAIC's technical accumulation: It is equipped with next-generation chassis technology, featuring the first-in-class full wire-controlled four-wheel steering system; next-generation intelligent driving hardware, including 520-line ultra-view LiDAR and NVIDIA Thor chips; next-generation powertrain system—global 800V high-voltage platform and Star Super Range Extender. This car also fully reserves the capability for continuous evolution towards L3 and above advanced intelligent driving. At the same time, the IM LS9 Hyper adopts the SAIC Gold Label Hurricane Three-Motor for the first time, joining the 3-second 0-100km/h club; it also jointly launched the "Intrinsic Security" technology with Purple Mountain Laboratory globally for the first time, expanding automotive safety boundaries from "Physical Security" to "Information and System Security," serving as an essential safety cornerstone for the AI era.
Behind the 100 million vehicles is SAIC's full value-chain closed loop covering six major sectors: complete vehicles, parts, mobility and services, finance, international operations, and innovative technology. From January to April 2026, SAIC accumulated sales of 1.302 million vehicles, ranking first in sales among Chinese automakers for four consecutive months. Among them, independent brand sales were 910,000, accounting for nearly 70%; new energy vehicles sold 412,000; overseas market sales were 459,000, a year-on-year surge of 50.2%.
At the delivery ceremony site, SAIC's full brand and product matrix collaborated. Independent brands went all out, covering multiple scenarios such as personal mobility, family life, commercial operations, and logistics transportation. Joint venture brands showcased "Joint Venture 2.0" results: Volkswagen ID. ERA 9X will globally debut with the Momenta R7 Reinforcement Learning World Model; AUDI E7X plans to become Audi's first global model to achieve L3 autonomous driving landing; Buick Zhijing E7 is built based on the "Xiaoyao" Super Fusion Architecture, achieving over 10,000 deliveries one month after launch.
Starting from the main venue in Shanghai, the delivery scene lit up successively in multiple domestic cities such as Nanjing, Liuzhou, Taiyuan, and countries including the UK, Indonesia, and Singapore. Behind this lies SAIC's deep foundation for global layout. SAIC is a pioneer in Chinese automotive enterprises "Going Global": It owns over 100 parts production bases and over 3,000 dealer networks overseas, has built 3 major R&D innovation centers including London, and 4 manufacturing centers in Thailand, Indonesia, India, and Pakistan; Anji Logistics owns 42 Ro-Ro ships of various types, with 8 international routes covering Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Today, SAIC's products and services are distributed in over 170 countries and regions, with cumulative overseas sales exceeding 7 million vehicles. SAIC MG has retained the title of the European sales champion among Chinese brands for 11 consecutive years; in 2025, European annual sales surpassed 300,000 units, becoming the first Chinese automotive brand to break one million in cumulative sales in Europe and the UK. In March this year, MG held a Tech Day in Frankfurt, Germany, globally debuting semi-solid state batteries and Hybrid+ hybrid technology, with the Hybrid+ family's overseas monthly sales already exceeding 20,000 units. In 2025, SAIC released the overseas "Glocal Strategy" (Global + Local), accelerating from "Product Going Global" to "Value Chain Going Global," allowing "Chinese Smart Manufacturing" to go further into the world.
100 million vehicles is a phased answer sheet for SAIC's over 70 years of development, and even more so, a new starting line for SAIC's "second entrepreneurial journey" towards the future of intelligent electric vehicles. In 2014, SAIC actively implemented the important instruction that "developing new energy vehicles is the only path for China to move from a car major power to a car strong power," leading the way in comprehensive transformation. Twelve years later, from the "leading the way" of intelligent electric transformation to a "flourishing boom" in independent/joint ventures, passenger/commercial, and domestic/overseas, SAIC will continuously take "Understanding Cars, Understanding You Better" as the user philosophy, letting technological innovation truly benefit every user.
The author of this article is A Lai from TiCheBang
