SAIC Joins Hands with Huawei, "Shangjie" Breaks into the 150,000 - 250,000 Market, Is the New - Energy Battlefield about to Change?

Recently, the automotive industry has welcomed a piece of blockbuster news: SAIC Group and Huawei Terminal have reached a deep - level cooperation to jointly create a new new - energy intelligent vehicle brand, "Shangjie", which will become the fifth member of Harmony Intelligent Mobility. This cooperation marks a significant step for SAIC Group in its intelligent transformation and also indicates a further expansion of Huawei's ecological layout in the intelligent vehicle field.
According to the cooperation agreement signed by both parties, SAIC and Huawei will carry out all - round strategic cooperation in multiple key areas such as product definition, manufacturing, supply chain management, and sales services. The models of the Shangjie brand will adopt the Huawei - selected vehicle model and be sold through the Harmony Intelligent Mobility channels. By leveraging Huawei's technological advantages and sales network, the market influence of the brand can be rapidly enhanced. The person in charge of the Shangjie project on the SAIC side is Zhu Yong, the deputy general manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle. Currently, the teams of both sides have closely connected and are actively promoting the project progress.
 
It is reported that the first model of Shangjie is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2025 with a pricing range of 150,000 - 250,000 yuan. It is expected to be the most affordable model in the Harmony Intelligent Mobility system. This vehicle will be based on the model with the internal code "ES39" under SAIC Roewe and deeply integrate Huawei's advanced technologies. It will be equipped with Huawei's cockpit and intelligent driving system, and will offer two pure - electric range versions to meet the needs of different consumers. Sources said that the appearance of the new vehicle will not change much, but there will be a full - scale upgrade in the electrical and electronic architecture and intelligent technologies. Huawei will use its rich experience in product R & D and marketing to carefully polish the product.

This cooperation is of great significance to SAIC Group. Once, SAIC was cautious about deep cooperation with Huawei. In 2021, Chen Hong, the then - chairman of SAIC Group, frankly stated that it was difficult to accept a third - party to provide a complete solution, fearing to lose its own "soul". However, times have changed, and the drastic changes in the market environment have prompted SAIC to re - examine its cooperation strategy. In recent years, the new - energy vehicle market has been developing rapidly, and the share of traditional fuel - powered vehicles has been continuously squeezed. However, many new - energy brands under SAIC Group have failed to achieve the expected development goals. The sales of Feifan Automobile have been continuously sluggish and have been merged into the Roewe brand; although IM Motor achieved a 70% sales growth in 2024, the total annual sales volume was still less than 70,000. Under the dual pressure of sales volume and profit, SAIC has to take the initiative to change and choose to cooperate with Huawei, which is powerful in the intelligent vehicle field, to enhance the intelligence level and market competitiveness of its products.

For Huawei, the addition of Shangjie further expands the Harmony Intelligent Mobility camp. Currently, Huawei's Harmony Intelligent Mobility already has four brands: MAEXTRO, STELATO, AITO, and LUXEED, covering the price range of 230,000 - 1,000,000 yuan and focusing on the high - end market. The Shangjie brand focuses on the mainstream consumer market of 150,000 - 250,000 yuan, which will fill the gap in the mid - to - low - end market of Harmony Intelligent Mobility, meet the needs of a wider range of consumers, and help Huawei further expand its market share and improve its intelligent vehicle ecological layout.
 
It is worth mentioning that in the first quarter of 2025, SAIC Group carried out a large - scale organizational adjustment, integrating five companies including the passenger vehicle company (Roewe Feifan, MG), SAIC International, the R & D General Institute, LingShu Technology, and overseas travel into the "Large Passenger Vehicle Sector", and reforming the operation mode. The management level will conduct a full - scale competition for positions, aiming to improve organizational efficiency and innovation ability and provide strong support for the cooperation with Huawei and the development of the Shangjie brand.

With the launch of the Shangjie brand, the competition in the new - energy vehicle market will become more intense. Especially in the mainstream price range of 150,000 - 250,000 yuan, there are already many strong competitors. For example, many models of BYD have accumulated a large number of users with their mature hybrid technologies and high cost - performance. The Shangjie models are equipped with Huawei's ADS 3.0 intelligent driving system and HarmonyOS 4.0 intelligent cockpit, having significant advantages in intelligence. In the future, whether Shangjie can stand out in the highly competitive market with its intelligent highlights, successfully divert potential customers, and seize market share remains to be tested by the market.

The cooperation between SAIC and Huawei is not only a strategic choice of the two companies but also a vivid portrayal of the accelerated transformation of China's automotive industry from "electrification" to "intelligence". The development of the Shangjie brand is expected to reshape the market pattern of new - energy vehicles in the 150,000 - 250,000 - yuan price range and bring more high - quality and intelligent travel options to consumers. In this wave of cooperation and competition, how SAIC and Huawei will work together and what kind of market report the Shangjie brand will submit, let's wait and see.