SAIC Motor Company has set a national record by delivering its one-hundred-millionth vehicle to a customer this week, reports AutoHome.cn. It was an IM LS9 luxury crossover optioned with a high-end Hyper powertrain.
SAIC traces its history back to the year 1955, when it launched a factory in Shanghai to manufacture internal combustion engine parts. Three years later, it produced its first car – the Fengguang sedan. In the ‘80s, it joined efforts with Volkswagen Group to mass-produce Santana compacts in China.
In 1997, a deal was struck with U.S.-based General Motors to launch a joint enterprise in China. In 2006, SAIC bought MG and launched a new brand called Roewe (because it couldn’t properly secure the rights to the Rover brand). In 2020, it launched Zhiji Auto as its first dedicated electric vehicle division.
As for the IM LS9 Hyper mentioned above, it’s a serial hybrid powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-pot making 155 PS (153 hp / 114 kW) and three electric motors. The motors send a combined 748 PS (738 hp / 550 kW) to the wheels while exerting up to 1,140 Nm (841 lb-ft) of torque. This allows the giant SUV to snap from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in under three seconds.