SAIC Motor Corp and Shanghai’s Huangpu district will promote new energy vehicles as part of a concerted effort to build Huangpu into a green low-carbon district, according to an agreement signed in East China metropolis on October 28.

At the signing ceremony, SAIC also announced the founding of a new charging technology subsidiary, another major move for pushing forward its new energy strategy.

To reassure users of new energy vehicles of a user-friendly environment, SAIC and the Huangpu district government will join hands in promoting the application of new energy vehicles by giving full play to each other’s advantages.

SAIC said it has invested 300 million yuan ($47.34 million) to set up the charging subsidiary based in Huangpu, whose services include: charging systems and terminal networks investment and construction; charging and leasing systems management; new energy vehicles sale, leasing and maintenance; parking resources integration; e-payment, Internet finance and matching industries for the new energy vehicles sector. The company plans to build 50,000 public charging piles in China by 2020.

The Huangpu district government will work to create favorable conditions for attaining its new energy development goals. The government will take advantage of landmarks in downtown area including the People's Square, the Bund, the Chenghuang Temple, Xintiandi and Dapuqiao to push ahead with the construction of charging facilities alongside a time-share rental program for electric vehicles.

In recent years, SAIC has intensified investment in research and development of new energy vehicles. By setting up technology centers in Shanghai, Nanjing and the UK, as well as an innovation center in the Silicon Valley of the US, the company has formed an independent R&D system featuring “home dominance and global collaboration”.

SAIC owns independent world-class core technologies in battery, electric drive and electric control systems. The company has rolled out a series of cutting-edge products, such as the popular Roewe 550 plug-in hybrid sedan, which has witnessed rising sales. The group plans to invest over 20 billion yuan in the new energy sector to further boost an innovation-driven development, release more than 30 brand-new products that meet world advanced standards and increase sales to 600,000 units by 2020 so as to further consolidate its leading position in the field of new energy vehicles.

To attain these goals, SAIC has made a roadmap plan for developing the new energy sector. The company will concentrate on plug-in hybrids, industrialization of pure electrics and demonstrative commercial operation of fuel cells to form its new energy product matrix powered by up-to-date technologies. It will develop innovative technologies including the electric driving unit (EDU) and battery management systems while forging a differentiated technological advantage. It will shape industries for key components that have a competitive edge and further develop independent core technologies for battery, electric drive and electric control systems.

The also plans to set up new energy service systems corresponding to the above-mentioned overall goals through stepping up cooperation, with a special focus on infrastructure such as charge piles, and adopting innovative business models including a time-share rental scheme for new energy vehicles, as part of the effort to explore energy solutions for future motor life.

Centering on China’s national strategy and Shanghai’s ambition to build a technological innovation center, SAIC will accelerate the pace of pushing an innovation-transformed development and unswervingly pursue a new energy path through independent innovation, brand development and international operation. With the ambition to lead future motor life, the company will make every effort to grow into a world-famous motor company nurtured by the spirit of innovation, thus making new contributions to the development of a transformed Chinese automotive industry as well as to Shanghai’s economy.