SHANGHAI Automotive Industry Corp said yesterday it will expand its local automotive engineering center to boost development of models under its own brand.
China's largest car maker plans to take advantage of joint efforts from three technical centers in Shanghai, Britain and South Korea to optimize its research and development capability for its self-branded models.
The SAIC Motor Technical Center, located at Shanghai International Auto City in Jiading District, western Shanghai, will cover 500,000 square meters and strengthen capabilities in vehicle manufacturing and powertrain systems, according to Gao Weimin, president of the center.
The first phase, covering 130,000 square meters, is expected to be completed by the end of this year, which involves a 1.8 billion yuan (US$236 million) investment. The total amount could reach three billion yuan.
SAIC's major R&D center now hosts more than 600 engineers, with a total of 1,500 forecast by 2010 and 2,000 by 2012, Gao said.
The car maker also established its own technical center in Britain after taking over the former R&D center of MG Rover Corp, the Ricardo 2010, and R&D facilities in South Korean's Ssangyong Motor with a controlling stake.
SAIC plans to sell 600,000 units of its self-branded models by 2010, accounting for 30 percent of its total sales of two million units. Its first own-brand vehicle, the Roewe 750 sedan, hit the road in March this year.
The increased research and development will also help SAIC develop clean-energy vehicles like fuel cell vehicles and hybrid models.
Domestic car makers are working on developing their own-brand vehicles in response to the central government's directives to turn car makers from assemblers to become global auto giants with core competence.