China’s SAIC Motor revs up for car battery and smart driving supremacy.
[Verdict] SAIC Motor Corporation (formerly known as Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) has announced its plans to become a market leader in next-generation car battery systems, autonomous driving and software technology.Amid China’s race to become a global technology powerhouse, the Chinese state-owned car manufacturer set a series of goals for its businesses, including battery technology, autonomous driving, software technology, software-defined vehicles and mechanism reform.
At the end of 2021 SAIC Motor plans to start production of new-generation upgradeable power batteries that feature zero thermal runaway and high cost-effectiveness, which are capable of fast charging and fast battery swap. In 2025, the automaker will begin manufacturing solid-state batteries.
As for autonomous driving technology, SAIC Motor will deploy its robotaxi service in Shanghai and Suzhou this year and in Shenzhen next year. In 2025, the company expects its robotaxi fleet to have roughly 10,000 autonomous cars and plans to put Level 4 (L4) intelligent driving cars into scale production.
L4 smart cars are considered fully autonomous, although a human driver can still request control and the car still has a cockpit. The driver, however, must remain capable of taking over control in case of an emergency. L5 autonomous vehicles, in comparison, do not need a driver.
SAIC Motor also said it would lead the industry in setting up technical centres dedicated to software development, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and cybersecurity, and making the full-domain core software developed in-house.
In a post on Chinese social media, the company also revealed its new “blue planet, rising sun” logo, which it says reflects SAIC Motor’s goal to become a “leading green technology company”.
China’s SAIC Motor revs up for car battery and smart driving supremacy, June 16, 2021