SAIC Motor, which operates joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen posted a 400% rise to 18,000 sales of its own-brand passenger cars in the first quarter of this year. SAIC also makes MG and Roewe cars after acquiring brands and technology from the defunct British MG Rover group four years ago. It launched two new models in Shaghai today.
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Company president Chen Hong was quoted by the official China Securities Journal earlier this month as saying that SAIC expected sales of its own-brand cars to rise to 50,000 units this year, up from 36,000 units in 2008, and that it aims to launch a hybrid car developed in-house within three years, Reuters reported.
Unveiling new models at the Shanghai motor show today, SAIC said it is trying to differentiate between the two brands: MG is “passion, personality, fun”, while Roewe stands for “taste, science and technology”.
It launched a new MG6 and the Roewe N1 concept based on the Roewe 550 platform, itself a shortened version of the Rover 75 platform.
SAIC describes the MG6, designed in-house, as “a modern, contemporary fastback”.
The N1 concept car is a “3G car”. With the help of 3G network, real-time traffic alerts and more precise navigation are possible. It also features many web2.0 applications.
