SAIC Motor Corporation Limited (SAIC Motor for short) released its 2018 half-year financial report on Aug 31. According to the report, the company sold 3.523 million whole vehicles in the first half of the year, up 11 percent year-on-year, with a domestic market share of 24.2 percent, up 1.2 percent year-on-year. Its consolidated revenues topped 464.85 billion yuan ($67.93 billion), and the net profit attributable to shareholders of the company topped 18.98 billion yuan, an increase of 17.27 percent and 18.95 percent respectively from a year earlier. The report indicates that SAIC Motor saw a faster growth of its net profit than its sales revenue, and the sales revenue, in turn, grew faster than the sales volume, suggesting healthy economic development for the company, with its business performance for the time period being the best in its history.

Sales growth nearly three times the rate of the average market growth

The domestic auto market, though achieving unexpected growth in the first quarter, started to slow down in retailing growth month by month from late April, suggesting the trend of a cooling market. In the first half of the year, nearly 14 million whole vehicles were sold in the domestic market, up 3.7 percent year-on-year, and SAIC Motor stood out by selling over 3.52 million whole vehicles during this period, up 11 percent year-on-year, claiming a large sales volume with a sales growth nearly three times the rate of the average market growth.

SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle (with its brands Roewe and MG) saw a sales volume of 359,000 whole vehicles during this period, an increase of 53.7 percent from a year earlier, leading the domestic mainstream passenger vehicle manufacturers in sales growth. Among the cars sold, internet-based vehicles accounted for over 40 percent. The Roewe MARVEL X model with the function of self-parking was also successively launched, further enhancing its image as a medium to high-end brand. It is the world’s first internet-based smart car model for mass production that realizes the function of self-driving in specific scenarios. SAIC MAXUS sold 67,000 whole vehicles (including its Yuejin brand), up 36.6 percent year-on-year. Its creative business model of Customer to Business (C2B) mass customization, and the idea of facilitating intelligent customization, internet connection and autonomous driving of vehicles have been met with a positive response in the auto market.

Its joint ventures SAIC-VW、 SAIC-GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling continued to take the lead in the domestic passenger car market. Both SAIC-GM-Wuling and SAIC Volkswagen sold more than one million cars in the first half of the year, ranking first nationwide in whole-vehicle sales and passenger-car sales, respectively. Additionally, SAIC-GM-Wuling saw an increase in passenger-car sales of 10.4 percent from a year earlier, much higher than the industry’s average level.

Overseas sales double and maintain first place nationwide

In the first half of the year, SAIC Motor realized exports and overseas sales of altogether 130,000 whole-vehicles, up 104 percent year-on-year, ranking first nationwide in overseas sales and boasting a sales volume of over 10,000 vehicles in multiple markets such as Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and South America.

SAIC Motor-CP Co sold 12,000 whole-vehicles in Thailand during the time period, up 103 percent year-on-year. Its MG ZS vehicle became the highest monthly selling vehicle in Thailand after four months of its launch in the country’s auto market, with the sales volume topping 8,000 in the first half of 2018. The car is equipped with i-SMART, the world’s first internet-based vehicle system that supports voice control in the Thai language, and is thus quite popular among the local young consumers. SAIC-GM-Wuling Indonesian Co, entering operations last year, has been committed to building itself into a model auto production base overseas that is cost-effective and high-efficient. Its sales volume during this time period also topped 8,000. MG Motor India has been orderly advancing the renovation of its Halol plant and the construction of its auto-part supplier park. Its first internet-based SUV is under development as scheduled and is expected to be put into production next year.

Moreover, SAIC Motor Overseas Smart Travel Technology Co has been established to address the problems of overseas car users by building an ecosystem of internet-based differentiated applications and realizing platform-based development. It is also committed to reproducing its advanced internet technologies to key markets overseas such as India, Australia, New Zealand and South America, and offering an overall solution for the internet connection of vehicles and related auto services.

Self-owned new energy vehicle brand topped 10,000 in sales for several consecutive months

In the first half of 2018, SAIC Motor grew considerably in terms of its new energy vehicles (NEV), including the self-owned brand and jointly-developed brand, with 57,000 NEV passenger cars and NEV commercial cars sold, up 275 percent year-on-year. The company’s market share increased significantly and its brand image as a medium and high-end auto manufacturer was further enhanced. Particularly of note is the fact that its self-owned NEV passenger car brand has realized a monthly sales volume of more than 10,000 since May, accounting for 60 percent of the sales of NEVs outside of  Shanghai.

In terms of the R&D and upgrading of core technologies, SAIC Motor was awarded the 2nd prize in this year’s National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology, for its project of Key Technologies and Industrialization of Low Energy-consumption Plug-in Hybrid Electric Passenger Vehicles, which was the only auto project that won the prize this year. At present, SAIC Motor is working at full strength on new innovations in core technologies in main auto parts such as with the electric drive system, batteries, and the electric control system. The R&D of its brand new E-architecture electric vehicles is underway as scheduled, and the system improvement of its Type 300 high-power fuel cell stack is also being stepped up, with the aim of it becoming globally leading.

In terms of the layout of the industrial chain, SAIC Motor has already launched operations in businesses related to core auto parts such as IGBT, cells and batteries, and electric drive systems. As for the product layout, the company has launched NEVs for family use to meet the market demands, and has, in accordance with the nation’s three-year action plan for air pollution control, produced NEVs for commercial use in the fields related to bus services, taxi services, street cleaning, postal services, logistics, commuting services, and dock operations.

With the reduction of the import tariff of whole-vehicles, the domestic auto market is facing a fiercer competition and an increasing differentiation among auto manufacturers, which, however, brings new opportunities to the upgrading of consumption. The NEV market and the internet-based intellegent cars are developing by leaps and bounds, leading the transformation and reform of the auto industry. China’s auto market is undergoing profound changes in its growth structure, facing a new round of challenges and opportunities. SAIC Motor will stick to promoting its innovation strategy to support to its new targets: Electrification, Intelligence& Connectivity , Sharing and Globalization, further exploring the in-depth integration of internet technology and the auto industry, so to rapidly transform itself into a comprehensive auto supplier that provides not only vehicles but also transportation services, and bring more value to its users and shareholders.