SAIC-GM

Not to be confused with SAIC-GM-Wuling.

SAIC General Motors Corporation Limited (commonly known as SAIC-GM; Chinese: 上汽通用汽车) is a joint venture between General Motors Company and SAIC Motor. The company was founded in 1997 as Shanghai General Motors Company Ltd or Shanghai GM (Chinese: 上海通用汽车). Headquartered in Shanghai, the company manufactures and sells Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac brand automobiles in mainland China, and exports its cars to several overseas markets.

SAIC General Motors
Corporation Limited

Logo since 2021
Headquarters in Jinqiao, Pudong, Shanghai
Formerly	Shanghai General Motors Company Ltd (1997–2015)
Company type	Joint venture
Industry	Automotive
Founded	June 12, 1997; 28 years ago (1997-06-12)
Headquarters	Shanghai , China
Area served	China
Products	Automobiles
Production output	673,007 vehicles (2024)
Brands	Buick Cadillac Chevrolet
Owner	SAIC Motor (50%) General Motors (50%)
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	上汽通用汽车
Hanyu Pinyin	Shàngqì Tōngyòng Qìchē
Website	saic-gm.com

History

SAIC-GM was founded on June 12, 1997, with 50% investment each from each partner. SAIC-GM began assembling the venture's first vehicle, the Buick Regal, in Shanghai, China in April 1999.^[1][2][3][4] This later followed with the Chinese-built Buick GL8 minivan which was a Chinese-exclusive vehicle and was not offered in the United States and Canada.

By 2003, China became the second largest single market for General Motors, selling 201,188 vehicles, an 81.6% percent increase over the previous year. In that year SAIC-GM achieved a 13% market share in mainland China, second only to Volkswagen Group China among foreign carmakers. Sales dropped in 2004 when the company retired the Buick Sail and the release of its replacement, the Chevrolet Sail, was delayed to February 2005, knocking General Motors Shanghai to seventh place in mainland China market share. SAIC-GM market share climbed back to nearly 9.8 percent, placing SAIC-GM among the top three passenger car manufacturers in mainland China.

In June 2004, the Cadillac brand was introduced to China followed by Chevrolet in January 2005.

In May 2005 SAIC-GM completed construction of a new assembly plant, the South Plant, at its facility in eastern Shanghai's Pudong district, more than doubling its annual production capacity to 320,000 vehicles.^[5]

SAIC-GM was the top passenger vehicle producer in China in 2006, with sales of 413,400 vehicles. In 2011, SAIC-GM sold 1,200,355 vehicles in the Chinese market.^[6] SAIC-GM is the largest joint venture GM has in China.^[7]

In February 2010, SAIC acquired an additional 1 percent stake in the joint venture for US$85 million and assistance in securing a US$400 million line of credit to boost SAIC's total share of SAIC-GM to 51%. In April 2012, GM regained 50% control of the joint venture.^[7]

Exports

In September 2006, General Motors launched the Chevrolet Corsa Plus in Chile built by SAIC-GM, an export version of the first-generation Chevrolet Sail which in turn is a version of the 4-door Opel Corsa with a 1.6-liter engine. It is the first export market to receive a vehicle manufactured by SAIC-GM.^[8]

In 2010, SAIC-GM started exporting the second-generation Chevrolet Sail to Latin American markets, starting with Chile.^[9] The third-generation Sail or Aveo, also built by SAIC-GM, was exported to Mexico and the Caribbean since 2017 until 2023, when SAIC-GM-Wuling took over the development and production of the Sail/Aveo.^[10][11][12]

In 2016, General Motors started importing the Buick Envision into the US from China. The Envision is built by SAIC-GM at its Dongyue Motors plant. Buick expected to sell 40,000 to 50,000 units of the Envision annually in North America.^[13][14]

Since 2020, SAIC-GM also exports the Chevrolet Equinox to Uzbekistan. SAIC-GM also assisted UzAuto Motors, the largest Uzbek automaker formerly known as GM Uzbekistan to produce Chevrolet vehicles such as the Onix.^[15]

Facilities

Name	City	Opened	Description	Current products
SAIC-GM	Jinqiao, Pudong district, Shanghai	1998	Occupies an area of 5,920,200 sq ft (550,000 m2). There are 3 vehicle production plants (North, South, & East). North was the original plant built in 1998. South began production in 2005. The East or Cadillac plant began production in 2016.[16][17]	Cadillac CT4 Cadillac CT5 Cadillac CT6 Cadillac Lyriq Cadillac XT4 Cadillac XT5 Cadillac XT6 Chevrolet Malibu XL Buick Enclave Buick GL8 ES/Avenir (Mk III) Buick GL8 Century (Mk IV) Buick LaCrosse Buick Regal (E2XX) Engines Engine components Transmissions Ultium batteries
SAIC-GM Dongyue Motors Co., Ltd.	Yantai, Shandong	2001	Originally founded in 2001 as Yantai Bodyshop Corp. which built Daewoo vehicles (Daewoo Lanos) under license from Daewoo Motor Co. SAIC-GM took over the plant in 2002. There are two vehicle production plants, North and South. SAIC-GM Dongyue Motors joint venture is owned 50% by SAIC-GM, 25% by GM China, & 25% by SAIC.[18][19]	Buick Envision
SAIC-GM Dongyue Powertrain Co., Ltd.	Yantai, Shandong	1999	Originally founded in 1999 as Shandong Daewoo Automotive Engine Co., Ltd., a 50/50 joint venture between Daewoo Motors and Chinese partners owned by the Shandong provincial government. SAIC-GM took over the plant in 2005. The joint venture is owned 50% by SAIC-GM, 25% by GM China, & 25% by SAIC.[20]	Engines Transmissions including: 6T30/6T40/6T45/6T50, CVT Past Engines: Family I, Gen 3 engine[21]
SAIC-GM (Shenyang) Norsom Motors Co., Ltd.	Shenyang, Liaoning	1992	Originally founded in 1992 as Jinbei GM Automotive Co. Ltd., a 30/70 joint venture between GM & Shenyang Jinbei Automotive. Restructured into a 50/50 joint venture between GM & Jinbei in 1998. SAIC-GM took over the joint venture in 2004, buying out Jinbei. The new SAIC-GM Norsom Motors joint venture is owned 50% by SAIC-GM, 25% by GM China, & 25% by SAIC. It has three phases of buildings.[22]	Chevrolet Tracker Buick GL8 Legacy (Mk II) Engines
SAIC-GM Wuhan Branch	Wuhan, Hubei	2015[23]	Past models: Chevrolet Cavalier[24]	Chevrolet Equinox Chevrolet Monza Chevrolet Menlo Buick Verano Pro Buick Velite 6[25] Buick Electra E5 Cadillac Optiq Engines

Related businesses

SAIC and GM also operated other joint ventures, including:^[17]

• Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co., Ltd. (PATAC), an engineering services and research and development (R&D) operations centered in China
• Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co., Ltd., the operator of OnStar services in China
• SAIC General Motors Sales Co., Ltd., a national sales company. GM China has a 49 percent stake and SAIC a 51 percent stake.
• SAIC-GMAC Automotive Finance Co., Ltd. (SAIC-GMAC), a financing arm
• Shanghai Chengxin Used Car Operation and Management Co., Ltd., a joint venture established by GM China, SAIC-GM and SAIC subsidiary Shanghai Automotive Industry Sales Co. Ltd.
• SAIC-GM-Wuling, a separate manufacturing and sales joint venture using Wuling and Baojun brands

Current models

Buick

• Electra E5
• Electra L7
• Enclave
• Envision S
• Envision Plus
• GL8
• GL8 Century
• LaCrosse
• Regal^[a]
• Regal GS^[b]
• Velite 6
• Verano

• 
  Buick Electra E5
• 
  Buick Enclave II
• 
  Buick Envision S
• 
  Buick Envision Plus
• 
  Buick GL8 Century
• 
  Buick GL8 ES PHEV
• 
  Buick GL8 ES facelift
• 
  Buick GL8 LS
• 
  Buick GL8 Onshore Business facelift
• 
  Buick LaCrosse IV
• 
  Buick Regal (China, III 2023 facelift)
• 
  Buick Regal GS (China, III facelift)
• 
  Buick Velite 6 EV
• 
  Buick Verano

Cadillac

• CT5
• CT6
• GT4
• Lyriq
• Optiq
• Vistiq
• XT4
• XT5
• XT6

• 
  Cadillac CT5
• 
  Cadillac CT6
• 
  Cadillac GT4
• 
  Cadillac Lyriq
• 
  Cadillac Optiq
• 
  Cadillac Vistiq
• 
  Cadillac XT4
• 
  Cadillac XT5
• 
  Cadillac XT6

Chevrolet

• Blazer
• Equinox
• Equinox Plus
• Equinox EV^[c]
• Malibu XL
• Menlo
• Monza
• Seeker
• Tracker

• 
  Chevrolet Blazer
• 
  Chevrolet Equinox
• 
  Chevrolet Equinox Plus
• 
  Chevrolet Equinox EV
• 
  Chevrolet Malibu XL
• 
  Chevrolet Menlo EV
• 
  Chevrolet Monza
• 
  Chevrolet Seeker
• 
  Chevrolet Tracker

Former models

Buick

• Electra E4
• Enclave^[c]
• Encore^[d]
• Encore GX^[e]
• Encore Plus
• Envista
• Envision
• Excelle
• Excelle XT^[f]
• Excelle GT
• Excelle GX
• GL6
• New Century^[g]
• Park Avenue^[h]
• Roadmaster^[c][26]
• Royaum^[i]
• Velite 5^[j]
• Velite 7
• Verano Hatch/GS^[k]

• 
  Buick Electra E4
• 
  Buick Enclave (facelift)
• 
  Buick Encore I
• 
  Buick Encore II
• 
  Buick Encore GX
• 
  Buick Encore Plus
• 
  Buick Envista
• 
  Buick Envision
• 
  Buick Excelle XT
• 
  Buick Excelle GT II
• 
  Buick Excelle GX
• 
  Buick Excelle
• 
  Buick GL6
• 
  Buick New Century GL
• 
  Buick Park Avenue
• 
  Buick Roadmaster
• 
  Buick Royaum
• 
  Buick Velite 5
• 
  Buick Velite 6 PHEV
• 
  Buick Velite 7
• 
  Buick Verano hatch
• 
  Buick Verano hatch GS

Cadillac

• ATS^[c]
• ATS-L
• CT4
• CTS^[l]
• Escalade^[m]
• Fleetwood Brougham^[c][27]
• Fleetwood^[c][28]
• SLS
• SRX^[n]
• XLR^[o]
• XTS

• 
  Cadillac ATS
• 
  Cadillac ATS-L
• 
  Cadillac CT4
• 
  Cadillac CTS I
• 
  Cadillac CTS III
• 
  Cadillac Escalade III
• 
  Cadillac Escalade IV
• 
  Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
• 
  Cadillac Fleetwood
• 
  Cadillac SLS
• 
  Cadillac SRX I
• 
  Cadillac SRX II
• 
  Cadillac XLR
• 
  Cadillac XTS I
• 
  Cadillac XTS II

Chevrolet

• Aveo
• Camaro RS^[c]
• Caprice Classic^[c][29]
• Captiva
• Cavalier
• Corsica^[c]
• Corvette (C4)^[c][30]
• Corvette (C6)^[c][31]
• Corvette (C7)^[c][32]
• Cruze
• Colorado^[c]
• Epica
• Epica II
• Lova
• Lova RV
• Lumina APV^[c]
• Malibu
• Onix
• Orlando
• Sail
• Spark
• Silverado^[c]
• Trax
• Trailblazer

• 
  Chevrolet Aveo
• 
  Chevrolet Camaro VI
• 
  Chevrolet Caprice
• 
  Chevrolet Captiva I
• 
  Chevrolet Captiva II
• 
  Chevrolet Cavalier
• 
  Chevrolet Corsica
• 
  Chevrolet Corvette C4
• 
  Chevrolet Corvette C6
• 
  Chevrolet Corvette C7
• 
  Chevrolet Cruze I
• 
  Chevrolet Cruze II
• 
  Chevrolet Epica V200
• 
  Chevrolet Epica V250
• 
  Chevrolet Lova
• 
  Chevrolet Lova RV
• 
  Chevrolet Lumina APV
• 
  Chevrolet Malibu pre-facelift
• 
  Chevrolet Malibu first facelift
• 
  Chevrolet Malibu second facelift
• 
  Chevrolet Orlando
• 
  Chevrolet Onix
• 
  Chevrolet Sail I
• 
  Chevrolet Sail II
• 
  Chevrolet Sail III
• 
  Chevrolet Spark
• 
  Chevrolet Trax (facelift)
• 
  Chevrolet TrailBlazer

Sales

Calendar year	Total sales	Ref.
1999	19,790	[33]
2000	30,543	[33]
2001	58,328	[33]
2002	110,763	[33]
2003	201,188	[33]
2004	252,869	[5]
2005	325,000	[34]
2006	413,367	[35]
2007	500,308	[33]
2008	458,642	[33]
2009	727,631	[33]
2010	1,038,988	[33]
2011	1,231,539	[33]
2012	1,392,658	[33]
2013	1,575,167	[33]
2014	1,760,158	[33]
2015	1,752,015	[33]
2016	1,887,071	[36]
2017	2,000,187	[37]
2018	1,970,117	[38]
2019	1,600,102	[39]
2020	1,467,470	[40]
2021	1,331,567	[41]
2022	1,170,107	[42]
2023	1,001,017	[43]
2024	673,007	[44]

See also

• SAIC-GM-Wuling

Notes

1. based on Opel Insignia
2. sports variant
3. imported
4. based on Opel Mokka
5. rebadged to Encore Plus
6. based on the Opel Astra J
7. rename of the Buick Century to avoid confusion with the Toyota Century
8. based on the Holden Statesman/Caprice
9. rebadge of the Holden Caprice WL series
10. rebadge of the Chevrolet Volt
11. based on Opel Astra K
12. produced from 2004 to 2007; imported from 2007 to 2019.
13. imported from 2006 to 2020.
14. imported from 2004 to 2015.
15. imported from 2005 to 2008.