Shanghai Automotive Industry (Group) Corporation
A bright future
China’s
Automotive
Success Story
Shanghai Automotive Industry (Group) Corporation (SAIC): the story of one of China’s most
­important automobile manufacturers is driven by famous car models. It began with the Shanghai 760
built in the late fifties, a sedan weighing more than a ton. And today, in 2012, SAIC is
really gaining traction with state-of-the-art transmission technology.
Text: Gerd Golbach · PHOTOs: Ingo Bulla · SAIC
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The Roewe 750 is one of
SAIC’s models for success.
HOERBIGER supplies complete synchronizer systems
for the transmission.
www.saicgroup.com
T
he Shanghai 760 was developed in Maoist
­China. The heavy-weight sedan was the vehicle
of choice of the Chinese political upper class,
whose positions were not high enough for the
dream car, the “Red Flag.” In top years, the
plant manufactured as many as 9,000 ­vehicles annually.
Even as late as the 1990s, being chauffeured through Beijing
in a Shanghai 760 taxi was a highlight among tourists.
Today, the Shanghai 760 is a museum piece. The true
­success story of the automotive industry in China ­began in
the eighties—with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation as the trailblazer. The joint venture Shanghai VW has
been producing the Shanghai Santana since 1983. The
first Santana generation dominated the urban landscapes
of the Chinese metropolises until the nineties. It was a
­robust and comfortable vehicle, which did well on China’s
roads and soon could be found even in the remotest of
spots of the country.
Upon intervention by the Chinese government, the two entities merged to jointly produce the almost identical models
of SAIC and NAC MG. SAIC continued to develop the British models and is selling them with a newly designed company logo under the Roewe marque. The name had to be
changed because the naming rights to Rover as well as the
logo are owned by Ford.
On right: In 2012, the transmission production operation
was relocated to the new
­factory in Shanghai. One of
SAIC is presently the largest automobile conglomerate in
China. In 2011, the company produced more than 4 million vehicles, of which the two joint ventures Shanghai GM
the products manufactured
at this site is the transmission
for the Roewe 750.
Even though it was produced in China,
­drivers were always proud of sitting behind
the wheel of a “German” automobile.
The success of the Santana paved the way for SAIC developing an entirely new supplier industry for automotive
components in the late 1980s and 1990s. While in 1987
the only locally manufactured components of the Shanghai
Santana were the tires and car radio, the share of locally
produced parts was expanded to more than 90 percent in
a matter of ten years. This was due in part to the government of the City of Shanghai, whose goal at the time was to
double Shanghai’s share in the national production of vehicle components. In 1997, a new joint venture was created:
this time with General Motors. In 1996, Shanghai GM
­began to produce Buicks and Chevys and helped SAIC
double its annual production between 2000 and 2006.
From China’s Number One
to a Global Player
With the onset of the new millennium, SAIC prepared its
presence on the international market. In 2002, SAIC
­acquired a majority stake in the Korean automobile manufacturer SsangYong Motor, gaining access to the Korean’s
international dealer network.
SAIC had grown with the Chinese automobile market until
2002. Driving factors for this growth were the joint ventures. For almost ten years now, the Chinese automotive
industry has attempted to become established on the
worldwide market with new products it developed on its
own. And it has done so successfully: in 2005, SAIC
­acquired the licenses to the Rover 25 and Rover 75 models from the insolvency assets of MG Rover Group. The
production equipment and machines were acquired in
2006 by its then competitor, Chinese automaker Nanjing
Automobile Corporation (NAC), which holds the naming
rights to MG and founded the subsidiary NAC MG.
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and Shanghai VW manufactured 2.4 million cars. The
most popular minivan in China, the “Wuling Sunshine,”
­accounts for 1.2 million vehicles.
Above: Professor Fang
Weirong, Transmission Vice
­Director of SAIC Motor
­Passenger Vehicle Company
Brand Diversity:
Cars for Everyone’s Taste
SAIC sells vehicles under various brands. The Yuejin,
Roewe, MG and Maxus brands are exclusive to SAIC. The
brands used by the joint ventures are Buick, Chevrolet,
­Bajun, Volkswagen, Skoda, Iveco and Wuling. SAIC Motor
Passenger Vehicle Company (SMPV), which is wholly
owned by SAIC, is in charge of developing and manufacturing the Roewe and MG series. SMPV plans to sell
700,000 Roewe and MG vehicles annually by 2015, which
equates to three times the 2011 sales figure. SMPV additionally plans to launch three to four new models every
year beginning in 2015. Professor Fang Weirong, Transmission Vice Director at SMPV, started with SAIC Motors in
1986. “I began,” he reported in an interview with
HOERBIGER@­MOTION, “at precisely the time when VW
came to China. My first major project was to implement the
production of the Santana five-speed transmission in
­China starting in 1988.”
(SMPV), has been working
for the company since 1986.
Bottom: In addition to
the transmissions for
the Roewe 750, in the
future the transmissions
for the Roewe 350, MG
5 and MG 6 (picture)
will be produced in
Shanghai.
PART
Synchronizer systems are an important component in manual transmissions. Because of HOERBIGER’s intensive product development process and extensive transmission testing,
its synchronizer systems are always optimized. Premium
components assure the performance of the transmission.
HOERBIGER produces the synchronizer components that
are intended for SAIC at its sites in Schongau, Germany, and
Changzhou, China. In Changzhou, the synchronizer systems
are completed before they are shipped to the customer.
HOERBIGER supplies SAIC with complete synchronizer systems for the SH78Z transmission installed in the Roewe 750.
In 2012, SAIC relocated the transmission production to a
newly constructed factory. This is where the new SCM 250
transmissions for the Roewe 350 and MG 5 as well as the
SCM 360 transmissions for the MG 6 will soon roll off the
line with synchronizer systems made by HOERBIGER.
­HOERBIGER will continue to support SAIC with innovations.
Engineers from both companies are currently working on an
Electrical Drive Unit (EDU). The center of this collaboration
revolves around the application of a synchronizer unit in the
drivetrain of an electric vehicle.
PART OF
China, the world’s largest automobile market, now has
more than 6,500 companies which serve the continually
growing automobile market. Based on annual production,
companies leading by a wide margin in 2011 included
Shanghai Automotive Industry (Group) Corporation (SAIC)
with 4 million vehicles, Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DMC)
with 3.5 million vehicles, China First Automobile Group Corporation (FAW) with 2.6 million vehicles, and Chang’an with
2 million vehicles. These four companies accounted for
64 percent of China’s total automobile production. As sales
growth in China is decreasing, notably SAIC and FAW are
making a push into the international market, attempting to
also gain a foothold in the electric vehicle market segment.
The MG and Roewe models are developed primarily in
Shanghai. A total of 1,800 engineers in Shanghai work
closely with 300 engineers in Nanjing and 250 engineers
in Longbridge near Birmingham, England. Longbridge recently opened the SAIC Motor Technical Centre (SMTC).
The focus of the company still lies on successfully developing the brand, which is apparent alone from the fact that
the engines and transmissions departments employ in
­total more than 130 engineers.
After years of unabated growth and investments, the Chinese automotive sector is facing a consolidation process in
the medium range. SAIC is positioned well and has solid
­financial backing, so that it is very likely to gain from the
consolidation and maintain its position.
The MG 6, the Roewe 550, the Roewe 950 and the new
MG 3 are presently manufactured in Shanghai, the Roewe
350 and the MG 5 in Nanjing, while Roewe 750 and the
particularly for the ­
­
Chinese market important W5 SUV in
­Yangzhou. In Longbridge, the models developed in China are
assembled with components manufactured in China for the
European market.
Professor Fang Weirong says: “Our models are positioned
in the mid-range and luxury market segments. We have
strict requirements in terms of performance and quality.
Our low production costs give us a competitive edge. However, we are not a low-cost brand; our company produces
high-quality vehicles. In the next five years, China will be
the most important market for SMPV,” adds Professor
Fang Weirong. “Tough we are also starting to develop the
international market. For example, we have already
shipped approximately 6,000 vehicles abroad.” SMPV
plans to sell the drive assemblies together with the transmissions to other companies, for example the SCM 250.
The demands on the technical quality and cost-­effective
pricing are therefore very high.
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“In the future, we hope to achieve progress
with regard to developing new synchronizer
system designs through the excellent
­cooperation with HOERBIGER.”
PARTNERSHIP
SAIC was the first Chinese state-owned company to enter
into a joint venture: this was with Volkswagen Group. SAIC
has been collecting experience from this international cooperation since 1983. The collaboration was expanded in
the mid-1990s to include General Motors (GM). After­
20 years as a “junior partner” to international automobile
groups, SAIC now also operates internationally and is an
equal partner and investor. In 2002, SAIC participated in
the acquisition of Korea’s automobile manufacturer Daewoo by GM. SAIC currently holds a ten percent stake in GM
Daewoo. In 2004, SAIC gained control of the Korean automobile manufacturer SsangYong Motor. Through its merger
with Nanjing Automobile Corporation, which had production plants not only in China, but also in Longbridge, England, SAIC further expanded its position as an international
car manufacturer. Six years ago, SAIC and HOERBIGER
jointly optimized the transmission for the Roewe 750. Over
the years, the two partners have continued to expand their
close working relationship. HOERBIGER supplies not only
complete synchronizer systems for the Roewe 750, but is
now also involved in the development of innovative synchronizer systems for the current and future model series.
HOERBIGER cooperated with the engineers in Longbridge
even before they have been acquired by SAIC. This relationship had a global focus right from the start. While the
SAIC Motor Technical Centre (SMTC) in England works
closely with HOERBIGER Antriebstechnik GmbH in Schongau, Germany, SAIC engineers in Shanghai value the proximity of HOERBIGER development engineers at HOERBIGER
Drive Technology (Changzhou) Co. Ltd. HOERBIGER’s
global nature assures shorter paths for the customer and
tailor-made solutions for any market.
In the near future, the sales figures will not rise as drastically as over the past few years. The annual growth rate
that can be anticipated is approximately 10 percent. ­SAIC
will maintain the collaboration with international business
partners. Notably the cooperation with GM continues to be
very close: they produce everything jointly, from the drive
assembly to the transmission. This allows the technology to
be kept up-to-date.
Modern Synchronizers for
an Edge in the Competition
HOERBIGER is also an important international business partner: “HOERBIGER supplies complete synchronizer systems
for the three manual transmissions of SAIC Group which are
the most advanced technologically. In the future, we hope to
achieve progress with regard to developing new synchronizer
system designs through the excellent cooperation with
­HOERBIGER,” states Professor Fang Weirong “HOERBIGER
is a company that not only continually enhances its products,
but is also able to respond to the cost pressure we are faced
with in competition.”
With Joint Ventures toward Cutting-Edge
Technology developed in China
Professor Fang Weirong says: “The joint ventures with VW
and GM gave us access to sophisticated technology. We
now independently continue to develop it. We strive to
bring our technology up-to-date with the acquisition of MG
and through the collaboration with SMTC in England, while
also hiring qualified engineers in China.”
“We hope to be able to make our products competitive in the
future by continuing the close cooperation with such a
­competitive company as HOERBIGER. HOERBIGER not only
has a strong position in terms of product quality, but also the
capability to manufacture locally. For us, it’s not only the cost
advantage which comes from producing in China that counts,
but also the proximity to our suppliers,” adds Professor Fang
Weirong.
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