SAIC Will Establish Smart Chassis Company – The Future of Automotive Tech?

【PCauto】After the release of MG IM6 in Thailand, it has received 1360 orders, showing itself as a very successful model. IM6 not only gained popularity among a great number of consumers in Thailand, but also received a lot of praise in other countries' automobile markets.

The reason for receiving so many praises mainly comes from the intelligent chassis of IM6. Professional drivers who have experienced IM6 have very high evaluations of its chassis.

Under such circumstances, IM6's parent company, SAIC Motor (Shanghai Automotive Group Co., Ltd) recently plans to establish an intelligent chassis architecture company.

Specifically, SAIC Motor plans to consolidate multiple component subsidiaries under Huayu Automotive Systems Co., Ltd. to establish a new intelligent chassis architecture company. As a core subsidiary of SAIC Motor, Huayu Automotive boasts extensive business coverage across critical automotive domains including instrument panels, door panels, chassis structural components, drive shafts, braking systems, and more.

SAIC Motor holds a controlling stake in Huayu Automotive, contributing 38% of its core business revenue in the first half of 2024. This intergratation represents a strategic move by SAIC Motor to leverage its resource advantages and concentrate efforts on breaking through technical bottlenecks in intelligent chassis development.

Meanwhile, a series of consolidation initiatives are being simultaneously promoted by SAIC Motor. In the middle of this month, its software subsidiary Z-ONE Technology completed consolidation with SAIC Motor R&D Innovation Headquarters, with their autonomous driving teams now operating under a unified structure. This merged entity is collaboratively driving R&D efforts to build a more robust intelligent driving technology ecosystem.

The development of intelligent chassis technology isn't unique to SAIC Motor—it represents an industry-wide trend.

CATL, the world-renowned power battery supplier, has introduced its battery-centric CIIC (CATL Integrated Intelligent Chassis) technology. In December last year, CATL released its Bedrock Chassis, a skateboard chassis solution that in advance integrates critical components including motor, electronic control, steering system, braking system, and suspension into a standalone chassis platform, achieving complete separation between the vehicle body and chassis.

Additionally, U.S. EV manufacturer Rivian has successfully brought intelligent chassis technology into mass production in the pickup truck field. Its models like the R1T feature high-spec chassis hardware, including multiple high-performance motors, long-travel air springs, rear-wheel steering, and other advanced configurations. Combined with sophisticated algorithms, these systems provide the vehicles with exceptional off-road capabilities.

By establishing its intelligent chassis architecture company, SAIC Motor will delve deeper into researching vehicle handling experiences and safety standards. The success of the IM6 has demonstrated that the invention of intelligent chassis technology represents one of the future development trends in the automotive industry.