Carmaker SAIC aims to become technology company

China's largest carmaker SAIC Motor has unveiled its goal to become a technology company, as new features including autonomous driving are about to transform the auto industry.

Releasing a new logo and vowing to center all its work on users, the State-owned car group said Tuesday it will make an all-out effort to develop smart electric cars.

SAIC said this is an age when software defines cars and data decides driving experience, adding that it will seek more sustainable development through technology.

The carmaker, partner of GM and Volkswagen, has been investing heavily in technology. Its heat loss-free battery packs will roll out later this year, and production of even safer solid-state batteries will start in 2025.

Its robotaxi service will be available in Shanghai and neighboring Suzhou, in Jiangsu province, this year, and in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in 2022.

It expects to expand its robotaxi fleet to 10,000 cars in 2025. Level 4 autonomous driving features will be found in its mass-produced vehicles in the same year.

SAIC has launched a digital platform that functions like Google's Android system for smart mobile phone makers and users.

The platform, the first of its kind in the auto industry, allows software developers to code and release car-based applications in an app store, and car owners can download and install them in their vehicles.

"In the past, vehicles were mainly composed of components, but now they are growing into smart terminals that feature both hardware and software," said SAIC Chairman Chen Hong when the platform was launched in April.

"Software has become the soul of the vehicle," Chen said. SAIC said the platform will be first used in vehicles under SAIC's electric brands IM and R, which will hit the market in 2021 and 2022.

SAIC is not the only carmaker that is growing into a software-driven company.

Volkswagen Group established its software division last year, and the German carmaker expects the software developed in-house will account for 60 percent of all the software it needs.

To that end, it has doubled the investment plan to 27 billion euros ($33 billion) by the middle of the decade, said Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess.

"In the coming years, it will be crucial to also reach a leading position in car software in order to meet people's needs for individual, sustainable and fully connected mobility in the future," said Diess.

Volvo-owner Geely is scaling up its investment in electrification and digitalization. It has partnered with internet companies including Baidu, and even made inroads into sectors of flying cars and satellite building.

Its first satellites are expected to roll out in October, and up to 500 satellites could be produced a year for various commercial operations, said Geely earlier this year.

China's largest SUV maker Great Wall Motors announced its plan in 2020 to become a technology-driven mobility company. New vehicle platforms and autonomous driving solutions have since been unveiled.

He Xiaopeng, founder and CEO of China's leading startup Xpeng Motors, said being electric alone will not enable brands to stand out in the increasingly competitive auto industry.

He said vehicles will be much more than transport tools in five to 15 years, just as the primary function of today's smart phones is not making calls.

"We have noticed that many of our customers will stay in their vehicles for quite a while after their vehicles are parked," said He.