China's automotive giant SAIC Motor held the Delivery Celebration for its 100 Millionth Customer at the Grand Halls in Shanghai's North Bund on May 28. More than 10 automotive brands under SAIC Motor and 19 models carried out a global relay delivery, crossing mountains and seas and linking markets worldwide. This achievement makes SAIC Motor the first Chinese automotive group to sell 100 million vehicles, setting a new milestone for China's automotive industry.
From Phoenix to IM Motors: The evolution of China's auto industry
In 1955, Shanghai Internal Combustion Engine Parts Manufacturing Company was established, marking the beginning of Shanghai's automotive industry. In 1958, workers built the first Phoenix-brand sedan by hand.
Over more than seven decades, SAIC Motor has helped drive the development of China's automotive industry. In 1983, the Santana rolled off the production line, opening a new stage of joint-venture cooperation. In 1997, Shanghai GM was established, completing plant construction and vehicle production within just 23 months — a pace that became known as "Shanghai speed". In 2006, Roewe, SAIC Motor's self-owned brand, was born. In 2016, SAIC Motor launched the Roewe RX5, the world's first internet car. In 2020, IM Motors, a premium intelligent electric vehicle brand, was established.
Throughout this journey, SAIC Motor has upheld its user philosophy of "More than Auto". Advances in engineering and vehicle technology have gone hand in hand with efforts to deliver better mobility experiences for customers.
The 100 millionth vehicles: The IM LS9 Hyper embodies more than 70 years of SAIC Motor's technological accumulation
The 100 millionth delivered model, the IM LS9 Hyper, brings together more than seven decades of SAIC Motor's technological accumulation and opens a new era for the "new three core systems" of new energy vehicles.
It is equipped with next-generation chassis technology, including fully steer-by-wire four-wheel steering, a first in its class; next-generation intelligent driving hardware, including 520-line ultra-vision LiDAR and NVIDIA's Thor chip; and next-generation three-electric systems — an all-domain 800V high-voltage platform and Stellar super range extenders. It also has fully embedded redundancy capabilities for continuous evolution toward L3 and higher-level advanced intelligent driving.
At the same time, the IM LS9 Hyper is the first model to feature SAIC Motor's Gold Label Hurricane tri-motor system, allowing it to enter the three-second performance club. In cooperation with Purple Mountain Laboratories, it also makes the global debut of intrinsic security technology, extending the boundaries of vehicle safety from physical safety to information and system security, and serving as a necessary safety foundation in the AI era.
The milestone carries special significance, as the 100 millionth customer is also one of SAIC Motor's key partners in intelligent driving. Beyond marking a customer delivery, it reflects the close collaboration between SAIC and its technology partners in advancing intelligent vehicles.
From Shanghai to the world: SAIC Motor showcases global automotive footprint
At the delivery ceremony, SAIC Motor's full lineup of self-owned brands appeared: the SAIC SHANGJIE Z7, the SAIC-GM-Wuling Huajing S, ROEWE M7 DMH, MG4, Wuling Eksion (Starlight 560), MAXUS eDeliver 5, SAIC HONGYAN heavy-duty truck, Yuejin Dana T1, SUNWIN Pure Electric Bus and IVECO Fidato EV were delivered in succession, covering diverse scenarios such as personal mobility, family life, commercial operations and logistics transportation.
Joint-venture brands collectively showcased the results of "joint venture 2.0". The SAIC VOLKSWAGEN ID ERA 9X will make its global debut equipped with Momenta's R7 reinforcement-learning world model, and its deliveries exceeded 7,000 units within one month of launch. The SAIC Audi E7X is planned to become Audi's first global model to realize L3 autonomous driving. The SAIC-GM Electra E7, built on the "Xiao Yao" Super Flexible Architecture, surpassed 10,000 deliveries within one month of launch.
Starting from the main venue in Shanghai, delivery events were held in cities including Nanjing, Liuzhou and Taiyuan, as well as in overseas markets such as the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Singapore, highlighting the growing global presence of Chinese automotive brands.
Behind this is SAIC Motor's deep foundation in globalization. SAIC Motor is a pioneer among Chinese automotive enterprises going global. Today, SAIC Motor's products and services cover more than 170 countries and regions, with overseas accumulated volume surpassing 7 million units.
SAIC Motor's MG brand has ranked first among Chinese brands in Europe for 11 consecutive years. In 2025, its annual sales volume in Europe exceeded 300,000 units, making MG the first Chinese auto brand to surpass 1 million units in cumulative sales volume in Europe and the UK.
In 2025, SAIC Motor launched its "Glocal Strategy" and is accelerating its shift from product exports to value-chain globalization, helping Chinese intelligent manufacturing reach more global markets.
The 100 million-vehicle milestone marks both a major achievement in SAIC Motor's seven-decade history and the beginning of its next phase of growth in the era of intelligent electric vehicles.
In 2014, SAIC Motor began accelerating its transition toward new energy vehicles, becoming one of the first major Chinese automakers to embrace electrification.
Since beginning its EV transformation, SAIC has expanded the shift across all of its brands, vehicle segments, and global markets. Going forward, it will continue developing technologies that improve the customer experience.
From the first customer to the 100 millionth customers, from early exploration to industry leadership, SAIC Motor will continue moving forward with global users and global partners, together creating a better future for mobility.