First Chinese automaker to hit 30 million vehicle production milestone

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - The car manufacturer also sells cars in Vietnam but is still struggling, even though its products are the cheapest on the market.

On January 5th, the SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) joint venture officially announced the production of its 30 millionth vehicle – the Wuling Starlight S – becoming the first Chinese automaker to reach this milestone.

SGMW's 30 millionth vehicle rolls off the production line (Photo: SGMW).

In 2013, SGMW's 10 millionth vehicle rolled off the production line; by 2019, the 20 millionth had been produced, and now they've reached the 30 million mark.

SGMW also stated that new energy vehicles (NEVs) played a crucial role in helping the company achieve these impressive milestones. Last year, the company launched 10 new energy vehicle models.

SGMW's 2024 sales reached 1.54 million vehicles, of which more than 800,000 were new energy vehicles, accounting for over half, a 63% increase compared to the same period last year. By the end of 2024, SGMW's cumulative new energy vehicle sales reached over 2.4 million units.

SGMW is currently a key export unit in SAIC's overseas market expansion strategy. The first country this joint venture exported vehicles to was Thailand in 1990, with a batch of 15 mini-cars called Z110. Now, SGMW exports vehicles to nearly 40 markets worldwide .

Speaking about future plans, Zhou Yan, SGMW's brand and communications director, said the joint venture will launch a new chassis platform for more expensive models. These new models are expected to debut in the first half of this year.

Despite its success in the domestic market, owning the world's best-selling compact electric car, the Wuling Mini EV, SGMW is still struggling in Vietnam.

The Wuling Mini EV was the world's best-selling small electric car in 2023, but it's still unlikely to succeed in Vietnam (Photo: Nguyen Lam).

The Wuling Mini EV was launched in the Vietnamese market in 2023 with a suggested retail price of 239-279 million VND, becoming the cheapest car in Vietnam. However, it failed to become a sales phenomenon because, for Vietnamese customers, this price was not attractive enough when compared to other cars in terms of equipment and features.

In early August 2024, the distributor adjusted the suggested retail price of the Wuling Mini EV, reducing it by up to 58 million VND to 197-231 million VND, but this was still not enough to reverse the situation. Many opinions suggest that the price of this model should only be in the 150-200 million VND range.

Furthermore, this price is considered insufficient to compensate for the lack of charging infrastructure and the inconvenience of using it as a daily means of transportation in Vietnam.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/o-to-xe-may/nha-san-xuat-o-to-trung-quoc-dau-tien-dat-moc-san-luong-30-trieu-xe-20250106155205316.htm