SAIC Motor drives up smart mobility

SAIC is partnering with leading technology companies such as Horizon Robotics to speed up the roll-out of intelligent driving features in its models.

The Shanghai-based carmaker announced plans late last week for the widespread adoption of advanced driving assistance technology across its entire vehicle lineup.

"We are actively working with technology companies including Huawei, Momenta, Horizon Robotics, OPPO, and ByteDance to build a new ecosystem for the intelligent vehicle industry and accelerate technological deployment," said Jia Jianxu, president of SAIC Motor.

Horizon Robotics, a key partner in SAIC's intelligent driving solutions, showcased its latest developments with SAIC at the same event last week.

Starting in 2025, several major Roewe and MG models will be equipped with the new J6E platform, which will also support SAIC's deployment of full-scenario advanced driving functions.

Since 2022, Horizon's J2 and J3 platforms have been applied in Roewe and MG models, enabling the mass production of Level 2 driving assistance systems.

Horizon also presented its latest Journey 6 series of intelligent driving chips.

The "Journey 6E" chip, designed for passive cooling and compatible with various powertrains, delivers a computing power of 80 TOPS. The "Journey 6P" chip reaches up to 560 TOPS, ranking among the most powerful intelligent chips globally.

Based on this series, the "Horizon SuperDrive" system enables high-level driving features such as intersection negotiation, pedestrian-vehicle interaction, obstacle recognition in construction zones, and complex parking scenarios.

The group also announced plans to launch its first mass-produced L3 vehicle in 2025 and aims to achieve the scaled deployment of L4 autonomous driving within the next five years.

As part of its efforts to advance autonomous mobility, SAIC's Robotaxi service—operated under the company's leadership—is currently undergoing pilot operations in Shanghai; Suzhou, Jiangsu province; and Shenzhen, Guangdong province, with a cumulative mileage exceeding 4 million kilometers.

In terms of smart cockpits, SAIC's self-developed system is compatible with HarmonyOS, Android, and iOS platforms, supporting most mainstream smartphone systems.

It boasts a speech recognition accuracy close to 100 percent, with control response times under 150 milliseconds.

In the field of battery technology, SAIC's next-generation semi-solid-state battery will enter mass production by the end of this year, debuting in the new MG4 model.

The battery features an energy density of 400 Wh/kg and supports 800V fast-charging technology.

By 2027, SAIC also plans to launch its first fully solid-state battery, tentatively named the "Guangqi Battery".

According to official data from SAIC, the company's products have entered more than 100 countries and regions, with total deliveries hitting over 94 million units.

"SAIC is implementing a 'glocal strategy,' tailoring intelligent and diverse product solutions to meet the needs of global markets, and accelerating the localized deployment of smart products in different regional markets," said Jia.