When SAIC Motor reached a cumulative production and sales breakthrough of 100 million vehicles, becoming the first member of the "100 Million Club" in the history of China's automotive industry, the spotlight should not only shine on the world's first smart car and high-end independent brand passenger cars, but also on the silent force that supported modern logistics, public transportation, and infrastructure pillars, and completed the five-vehicle relay delivery at this grand event — SAIC Commercial Vehicles segment.

In the second half of the hundred-year change in the automotive industry, the new energy transformation of commercial vehicles is not only a key battle for the "Dual Carbon" goals, but also the core ruler to measure a country's automotive industry green competitiveness. SAIC Commercial Vehicles, carrying five brands including Maxus, Yuejin, IVECO, Hongyan, and SINOWO, submitted a highly valuable report card: the overall new energy penetration rate reached 35%, leading far ahead of traditional commercial vehicle enterprises, and injecting powerful "green momentum" into SAIC Motor's 100 million monument with its full-scenario product matrix, global top partner endorsements, and full-dimension user ecosystem. Behind this number is the profound transformation of China's commercial vehicles from "scale expansion" to "value leadership".

Structural Leadership: How does 35% penetration break the commercial vehicle "high emission, difficult decarbonization" curse?

For a long time, commercial vehicles were regarded as a "hard bone" for new energy transformation due to complex usage scenarios, high cost sensitivity, and high range requirements. However, SAIC Commercial Vehicles proved that this "bone" could be chewed up with a 35% overall new energy penetration rate. This number far exceeds the industry average, marking that its new energy strategy has crossed the policy-driven stage and entered the "harvest period" driven by the market.

This leading position is built on a complete and layered technical implementation logic.

First, there is the saturated coverage of "all energy routes". Unlike some companies betting on a single technical route, SAIC Commercial Vehicles has achieved a comprehensive layout of fuel, pure electric, plug-in hybrid, range extender, and hydrogen fuel. Especially at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, "Maxus Da Na Super Range Extender", the "industry's first super range-extending large light commercial vehicle" launched by Maxus, accurately cut into the core pain points of city distribution logistics with the "large battery + small range extender" collaborative mode. Its CLTC comprehensive range exceeded 1,260 kilometers, pure electric range 312 kilometers, and the energy consumption per 100 kilometers was as low as 2.65L. This technical "precision calculation" directly translates into the "economic account" in users' hands, which is the key to the large-scale popularization of new energy commercial vehicles.

Second, the "penetration rate flying together" of core brands. The 35% overall data is composed of a solid base formed by multiple points blooming across brands. SINOWO buses achieved 100% comprehensive electrification, becoming a benchmark for urban public transportation zero-carbon transformation; the Yuejin brand's new energy light truck proportion approached 57% in all of 2025, meaning that for every two light trucks sold, one was new energy; Maxus's domestic new energy penetration rate frequently broke through 50% in single months, especially in its traditional strong light commercial vehicle sector, achieving a switch from "quantity" to "quality". This full-brand collaborative penetration, rather than reliance on a single "sharp spear" advance, has built SAIC Commercial Vehicles' irreproducible systematic advantage.

Finally, deep co-research in the industrial chain. The strategic cooperation with CATL's "technical co-research, ecosystem co-construction" has allowed SAIC Commercial Vehicles to occupy the commanding height in the core battery link. The equipped CATL Tianxing battery not only has an extremely low failure rate of one in a billion levels, but also provides a cycle life of 7,000 cycles and warranty of 8 years or 600,000 kilometers, which hits the fundamental concerns of commercial vehicle users on "reliability and residual value". Solving user anxiety from the bottom layer technology, SAIC Commercial Vehicles' new energy leading is the successful conversion of technical dividends to market dividends.

From "Product Overseas Expansion" to "Solution Export": Brand Dimension War Behind Globalization

On the global automotive stage, the internationalization degree of commercial vehicles is a direct embodiment of measuring a country's automotive industry competitiveness. SAIC Commercial Vehicles not only leads the new energy transformation in the domestic market, but also reshapes the gold content of "Made in China" in the global market. The core of its globalization story has upgraded from early "selling products" to "exporting systems, standards, and ecosystems".

Data is the most intuitive proof. In 2025, SAIC Commercial Vehicles exported 103,000 vehicles overseas, with a year-on-year growth of over 25%, and light commercial vehicle exports ranked first among Chinese brands, with pickups ranking second. Entering 2026, this momentum has increased, with overseas sales breaking through 10,000 vehicles in April alone, a year-on-year increase of 40%. This is not only an increase in quantity but a qualitative leap. In markets such as Australia, Chile, and Malaysia, SAIC Commercial Vehicles' new energy products not only secured large orders but also occupied over 50% of the market share for pure electric commercial vehicles in Chile. This simultaneous breakthrough in developed countries and "Belt and Road" market lines proves that its products have reached global leading levels in quality, safety, and adaptability.

"Return orders" from global top customers are the best endorsement of brand power. At the SAIC Group 100 million vehicle delivery ceremony, international logistics giant DHL once again became the focus customer, receiving the Maxus delivered eDeliver 5. Since the cooperation in 2017, Maxus not only won DHL's largest procurement order in the European region but also became its preferred partner for global green logistics transformation. From DHL, FedEx, OnRoad, to SF Express, these industry giants who are picky about operating efficiency and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) continuously choosing SAIC Commercial Vehicles is itself the highest evaluation of its product reliability, economic efficiency, and service support capabilities.

More worth noting is that SAIC Commercial Vehicles is completing the strategic dimension upgrade of the overseas expansion model. During the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, over 200 overseas dealers from more than 100 countries and regions gathered together to witness its four core strengths of "Quality, Technology, Ecosystem, Globalization". This marks that its overseas strategy has shifted from simple trade relations to a new stage of deep localization and full-scenario business solution export. By establishing overseas service centers, perfecting terminal sales networks, and initiating global modification ecosystem alliances, SAIC Commercial Vehicles is building a symbiotic and win-win global business ecosystem. It is not only selling a vehicle but exporting a green transport solution integrating vehicles, finance, services, and data. This transformation from "product output" to "capability output" is the inevitable path for China's commercial vehicles to truly walk to the center of the global stage.

Full-Scenario Coverage and User Value Reconstruction: From "Production Tools" to "Livelihood Partners" Dimension Upgrade

Commercial vehicles naturally have the attribute of "production tools", but SAIC Commercial Vehicles, by building a full-scenario product matrix and full-lifecycle user ecosystem, is redefining its social role. It is both the "wealth creation tool" of thousands of industries and the "warm partner" connecting livelihood.

In the product dimension, its coverage breadth is impressive. From heavy trucks supporting infrastructure projects, passenger cars serving city buses, to light trucks and light commercial vehicles deepening city distribution logistics, to pickups serving both commercial and outdoor needs, MPVs satisfying business and families, and even RVs carrying poetry and distance, SAIC Commercial Vehicles has built a full-scenario matrix of 7 car series. This "no blind spot" coverage ability enables it to provide highly customized solutions for different users. For example, in this 100 million vehicle delivery, IVECO Juxing EV broke through the mountainous passenger transportation range problem with its 100-degree large capacity battery, serving Henan Zhonglian Tourism; Hongyan i Jieshi Dump Trucks rode the complex road conditions of Shanxi with military-grade quality, escorting Hengtong Sheng Industry & Trade Company's infrastructure project. This precise scenario matching is the best embodiment of its product power.

In the value dimension, its service ecosystem construction goes beyond traditional buying and selling relationships. The "Lingju Capacity" built "Vehicle, Cargo, People, Data" integrated smart logistics ecosystem, and the "Star Plan" invested 15 million in farmer assistance funds, indicating SAIC Commercial Vehicles is thinking about how to help users better "make money". It is no longer passively providing transportation tools, but actively intervening in users' operation processes, lowering TCO through data empowerment and improving operational efficiency. Especially the "Star Plan" Motuo Action, assisted high-altitude area agricultural product transportation with pickup capacity, integrating commercial value and social responsibility, exploring a new path for rural revitalization of "Cars to the Countryside + Agricultural Products Going Up".

In the social responsibility dimension, its public welfare actions show enterprise warmth. Launching the AED Worry-Free Rescue Fund, creating the country's first commercial vehicle mobile AED public welfare fleet, this measure upgrades commercial vehicles from simple transport tools to mobile "Life Guardians". When vehicles become mobile emergency nodes, SAIC Commercial Vehicles' social value has achieved a qualitative leap. The landing of the 8S User Super Experience Center broke the traditional 4S Dealership boundary, providing integrated experiences of sales, service, ecosystem, and co-creation. This is itself a profound reconstruction of user relationships, shifting from the end of transactions to the starting point of relationships.

Conclusion:

SAIC Motor's 100 million vehicles is a period for an era, and more like a colon for the next journey. Behind this heavy milestone, SAIC Commercial Vehicles, with its 35% new energy penetration rate, full-scenario product strength, global brand influence, and warm user ecosystem, has strongly proved that it is not only the "ballast stone" for the group scale's summit, but also the "engine" leading the green transformation of China's commercial vehicle industry.

100 million users are not the end point, but a new starting point of trust. When the original intention of "serving livelihood, linking the world, driving the future" meets the era tide of new energy and globalization, SAIC Commercial Vehicles is driving China's commercial vehicle industry from scale leadership to value and brand full-range leadership with its systematic competitive advantages. On the map of the global green transport revolution, it has already become a key force that cannot be ignored.

On May 26, 2026, the National Intellectual Property Administration announced an invention patent—"A Method, Device, and Controller for Engine Diagnosis", applicant SAIC Group, publication number CN122082896A.

Two days later, on May 28, at the Shanghai North Bund World Living Room, SAIC delivered the first 100 millionth vehicle (IM LS9 Hyper) to Momenta CEO Cao Xudong. SAIC thereby became the first automotive group in China to exceed 100 million cumulative production and sales.

Notably, prior to reaching the 100 million milestone, the 99,999,999th vehicle of SAIC Group was the SAIC Volkswagen ID. ERA 9X. This model exceeded 7,000 deliveries just one month after launch, and in April, it ranked among the top 3 in the over 300,000 RMB extended-range large premium SUV segment. This is a brilliant achievement of the fusion of SAIC Volkswagen's "In China, For China" strategy and "Global Wisdom + China Speed".

The patent announcement and the 100 million delivery occurred in the same week; it is not entirely a coincidence.

What does 100 million vehicles mean? Over 70 years, nearly 4,000 vehicles produced per day on average. But what is more noteworthy is the structural change: The tens of millions added in recent years are mostly equipped with independent electronic control systems, capable of data collection and upload. They are scattered across over 170 countries and regions, driving in various real-world conditions such as plateaus, extreme cold, congestion, and high speeds. The engine operation data of every vehicle is a training sample in SAIC's R&D system; this is something no laboratory can replicate.

That engine diagnosis patent happens to provide a window for observation, pointing to a shifting logic: When a car manufacturer's cumulative ownership reaches the 100 million level, scale is no longer just a tool for diluting manufacturing costs, but will begin to feed back into technical R&D.

01 The Confidence of 100 Million Vehicles

To understand the technical meaning of 100 million vehicles, one must first look at how these 100 million were accumulated.

In 1958, Shanghai workers used hammers to produce the first "Phoenix" sedan, achieving a breakthrough from zero in Shanghai's car manufacturing. In 1983, the first Santana was assembled manually and rolled off the line, opening the era of joint venture cooperation and driving the establishment of a modern parts system. Over the following decades, SAIC deepened ties with Volkswagen, General Motors, etc., completing the original accumulation of manufacturing systems, supply chain management, and talent resources in the wave of "Market for Technology".

The real turning point occurred after the rise of independent brands. The Roewe brand was launched in 2006, the world's first internet car, Roewe RX5, debuted in 2016, and the premium intelligent electric brand IM Motors was established in 2020. By January to April 2026, SAIC had cumulatively sold 1.302 million vehicles, ranking first among Chinese car manufacturers for four consecutive months. Independent brand sales accounted for nearly 70%, overturning the past structure that long relied on joint ventures.

Meanwhile, SAIC's products and services have entered over 170 countries and regions, with cumulative overseas deliveries exceeding 7 million units. From the UK to Indonesia, from Thailand to Pakistan, SAIC has established 4 overseas manufacturing centers and 3 R&D innovation centers. SAIC Anji Logistics owns 42 ro-ro ships, with 8 international routes covering Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Actually, more persuasive than the number itself of 100 million is the structural change. In 2015, SAIC's independent brand share was only about 38%, new energy share was almost negligible, and overseas sales share was about 10%. By the first four months of 2026, these three numbers had jumped to nearly 70%, 31.7%, and 35.3% respectively. This means that the tens of millions added to the 100 million in recent years are vehicles truly equipped with SAIC's independent electronic control systems, independent data collection architectures, and independent cloud platforms.

Over the past decade, SAIC has cumulatively invested more than 150 billion yuan in R&D, holding nearly 26,000 valid patents. Since the beginning of 2026 alone, nearly 100 new patents have been authorized. Behind these numbers is a "data-driven R&D" model that is taking shape.

Said plainly, SAIC's 100 million vehicles are the largest "mobile laboratory" in the world and the starting point of "data-defined technology". In the future, it will not be engineers guessing what problems users might encounter, but the operating data of users' vehicles directly telling engineers where the problem lies, what the priority is, and what the optimal solution is.

02 "Data Goldmine" in the Engine Diagnosis Patent

Returning to the patent itself, its technical solution doesn't sound flashy: Within a predetermined time period, when the conditions for both the first diagnostic strategy and the second diagnostic strategy are met simultaneously, only one fuel cut request is sent, and both diagnostic strategies are executed simultaneously within the same continuous time period where the engine is fuel-cut.

This effect has two layers: First, it can reduce the total number and duration of engine fuel cuts, thereby saving fuel consumption. Second, it can limit the diagnostic execution process to the shortest time period, reducing the duration of single fuel cuts, avoiding potential safety risks caused by fuel cuts lasting too long.

Traditional engine diagnosis adopts a "time-sharing diagnosis" logic. Simply put, it involves troubleshooting item by item. For each item checked, there is a brief fuel cut; there are many times and the duration is long. Previously, this might not have been obvious for fuel vehicles, but now hybrid vehicles frequently start and stop. Every fuel cut feels like a lurch in the car body, and power delivery lags half a beat. SAIC's patent solution is essentially merging multiple checks into a single fuel cut.

This solution works only if two capabilities are possessed: First, knowing which diagnostic items can be safely executed in parallel, meaning knowing which checks can be done together without issues; Second, setting the shortest and most appropriate time for each fuel cut for every engine model and usage scenario. These two capabilities both rely on sufficiently extensive real-world operating data. Laboratories may not be able to simulate all road conditions, but the real data generated by 100 million vehicles can.

This is what is called "scale feeding back into technology". 100 million vehicles generate data every moment. This data allows algorithm engineers to continuously optimize diagnostic strategies, and the optimized strategies are pushed to vehicles via OTA, bringing lower fuel consumption, a smoother driving experience, and more accurate fault diagnosis. Users barely notice the existence of the diagnosis, yet they genuinely enjoy the convenience brought by diagnostic optimization.

03 Why the Hybrid Era Needs More "Engine Understanding"

Against the backdrop of continuously rising penetration rates of pure electric vehicle models, a natural question arises: Why does a car manufacturer actively transforming towards electrification still invest resources to delve deep into engine diagnosis technology?

In 2025, SAIC launched the overseas "Glocal Strategy", and models equipped with the new HEV hybrid powertrain system will cover major global market segments. In March this year, MG held a technology day in Frankfurt, Germany, globally launching two core technologies: SolidCore semi-solid-state battery and Hybrid+ hybrid. The MG Hybrid+ hybrid technology, which balances low fuel consumption and high performance, has exceeded 20,000 units in overseas monthly sales. Meanwhile, SAIC's DMH Super Hybrid system has also been applied to multiple models including Roewe and MG, with its hybrid dedicated engine thermal efficiency exceeding 46.3%.

Similarly, including extended-range vehicle models, the EA211 Golden Range Extender equipped on SAIC Volkswagen ID. ERA 9X is essentially a high-efficiency engine power generation system. Its diagnostic strategy also requires precise control of fuel cut timing and duration. The ID. ERA 9X exceeded 7,000 deliveries one month after launch, indicating that user acceptance of this range-extending solution is not low, which also means the underlying engine diagnosis logic is being verified on a large scale.

One of the core technical challenges of hybrid vehicle models is the coordination of start-stop between the engine and the motor. Every start-stop involves the triggering and execution of diagnostic strategies. If the traditional "time-sharing diagnosis" logic is adopted, frequent fuel cut diagnostics will severely affect the smoothness of hybrid driving; users will feel inexplicable lurching or lag. At the same time, every fuel cut also means that the engine stops outputting power at that moment, and fuel economy will be discounted.

The characteristics of "reducing fuel cut times" and "shortening single fuel cut duration" in SAIC's patents are precisely to solve this major problem. This logic holds true for range-extender models as well. When the range extender starts, diagnostic efficiency directly relates to the smoothness of power generation.

From a broader perspective, internal combustion engines will not completely exit the historical stage due to electrification. Whether it is the demand for hybrid models in the European market or the preference for plug-in hybrid models by Chinese consumers, both point to the same conclusion: Engines will not disappear, but they will become more "intelligent". And what makes engines intelligent is precisely this data and diagnosis.

This also explains why SAIC's DMH hybrid dedicated engine could break through a 46.3% thermal efficiency. Optimizing solely at the mechanical level is actually approaching the physical limit. To break through further, one must rely on precise diagnosis and adjustment; every item depends on support from massive amounts of real-world operating data.

Standing at the new starting point of 100 million vehicles, the problem SAIC faces is direct: Can these massive data assets be transformed into perceptible user experience and technical barriers? The engine diagnosis patent is just a cross-section; it is small, but also deep enough. When technical competition shifts from hardware strength to algorithms and data, what determines victory or defeat may no longer be which company produced a better prototype in the laboratory, but which company's algorithm is more reliable in actual use.

100 million vehicles are not even the endpoint. They are 100 million data sources, 100 million units of user trust, and also the new starting point for SAIC to enter a new stage. From 1955 to 2026, the reason SAIC has lasted more than 70 years is not due to a hit vehicle model or a star technology, but the ability to understand technology and, more importantly, understand users.