SAIC's Volkswagen Santana went from three local parts to over 90 percent
In 1987 the only Shanghai-made parts in a Volkswagen Santana were the tyres, radio and antenna. By 1998 more than 90 percent of its components came from local suppliers. That transformation helped SAIC grow from a small 1970s firm into China's largest state-owned carmaker, selling over 4.5 million vehicles in 2025.
SAIC traces its roots to a Shanghai assembly factory from around the Second World War, and its corporate line began in December 1955 as an engine components company, later renamed for agricultural machinery and then tractors before becoming Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation in 1990. It was one of the few carmakers in Mao's China, building the Shanghai SH760.
The turning point was a 1984 agreement with Volkswagen, now the oldest surviving Chinese-foreign car joint venture. Closely guided by the Shanghai municipal government, SAIC built a modern parts supply chain almost from nothing, and capacity rose tenfold to 300,000 vehicles a year in the 11 years to 1996. A second venture with General Motors started production in 1998 and helped double output between 2000 and 2004.
Expansion abroad was bumpier. SAIC took a 10 percent stake in GM Daewoo and bought 48.9 percent of SsangYong in 2004 for US$500 million, but SsangYong went into receivership in 2009 and SAIC's holding later shrank to 10 percent. Outbid for MG Rover in 2005, it folded some Rover technology into its new Roewe brand and then bought the company that had beaten it.
Its own brands, including MG, Roewe, Maxus and the electric IM, supplied 52 percent of sales in 2021, when SAIC, counting its Wuling joint venture, ranked second worldwide among makers of battery electric cars. The tiny Wuling Hongguang Mini EV was China's best-selling electric car that year. SAIC placed 84th on the Fortune Global 500 in 2023, and on 28 May 2026 it became the first group in China to reach 100 million vehicles.
Source: SAIC Motor
