SAIC Motor became the first Chinese automaker to produce and sell 100 million vehicles cumulatively, the company said on Thursday.
The 100 millionth vehicle was an IM LS9 Hyper, the flagship extended-range SUV from SAIC‘s premium intelligent-EV brand IM Motors, handed over to Cao Xudong, CEO of the autonomous-driving software firm Momenta.
The company supplies SAIC‘s advanced driver-assistance systems, a choice that tied the landmark to the company’s push into intelligent vehicles.
SAIC held on Thursday simultaneous deliveries across its portfolio, spanning MG, Roewe, Maxus and its joint ventures with Volkswagen and General Motors, alongside overseas handovers in markets including the UK, Indonesia, and Singapore.
A Flagship Chosen to Signal Direction
The IM LS9 Hyper is a full-size six-seat SUV built on an 800-volt architecture, pairing a turbocharged range-extender that functions solely as a generator with a tri-motor all-wheel-drive system producing about 550 kilowatts, or roughly 737 horsepower.
The model features what IM Motors describes as the industry’s first mass-produced four-wheel steer-by-wire system, a LiDAR-and-Nvidia-chip sensing stack positioned for higher levels of autonomy, and a combined range of up to about 1,500 kilometers — equivalent to 932 miles.
Prices for the LS9 lineup start in the range of 320,000 to 380,000 yuan.
NEV and Overseas Growth
SAIC sold 4.507 million vehicles in 2025, up 12.3% from a year earlier, including 1.643 million new energy vehicles, a 33.1% increase.
Overseas sales reached 1.071 million units, with cumulative exports now exceeding 7 million vehicles across more than 170 countries.
MG, acquired through SAIC‘s 2007 purchase of Nanjing Automobile, has become the best-selling Chinese brand in Europe, with cumulative regional sales approaching 1 million vehicles.
Through the first four months of 2026, the company delivered about 1.30 million vehicles, retaining its domestic lead, with overseas volumes up more than 50%.
From Components Maker to Volume Leader
SAIC began in 1955 as a components and tractor manufacturer in Shanghai, building the city’s first domestic sedan in 1958.
The company helped pioneer China’s modern auto industry through landmark joint ventures, beginning with Volkswagen in the mid-1980s and General Motors in 1997, partnerships that delivered the scale and technology transfer that powered decades of expansion.
SAIC has remained China’s top-selling automaker for more than 18 consecutive years, building out a full ecosystem of passenger and commercial vehicles, components, finance and logistics.
The balance has since shifted toward its own brands, which accounted for about 65% of sales in 2025, reversing the earlier dominance of its joint ventures.
The Backdrop
The milestone arrives as SAIC‘s traditional joint ventures face mounting pressure from domestic new energy leaders such as BYD and Geely.
The company has leaned on its scale, vertical integration and technology partnerships with Momenta, Nvidia and battery maker CATL to defend its position, and has emphasized localized production through overseas manufacturing hubs in Thailand, Indonesia, India and Pakistan.
