SAIC Motor held the 2016 shareholders’ meeting on May 25, 2017, with the annual report, profit distribution plan and the work report of the board of directors approved.

According to the profit distribution plan, the shareholders will receive a 16.5-yuan cash bonus for every 10 shares held-the fourth consecutive year where a dividend of over 50 percent has been paid. Despite the fluctuating auto market, SAIC Motor has always been a favorite for investors with its market value hitting a record high of 345.1 billion yuan ($50.92 billion) on May 24, 2017.

The company has been pushing forward innovation-driven development to improve its core competitiveness, with a focus on promoting four trends - electrification, connection, intelligence, and sharing.

Based on the 2016 annual report, SAIC Motor maintained its leading position last year as it sold 6.49 million vehicles, up 9.9 percent on the previous year. Gross revenue topped 756.42 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.82 percent while net profit for shareholders of listed companies was 32.01 billion yuan, an increase of 7.43 percent.

In the first four months of 2017, SAIC Motor maintained stable development with sales of 2.16 million vehicles, a rise of 3.66 percent compared with the same period last year. The sales volume of the Roewe and MG brands climbed 118 percent to 159,500 units while commercial vehicle sales of the SAIC Maxus reached 17,900, representing year-on-year growth of 23.26 percent.

The company is keen to promote plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), electric vehicles (EV) and fuel cell technologies, and SAIC Motor has launched over 10 passenger and business vehicles. Meanwhile, its Electric Drive Unit (EDU) highlights low energy costs, winning first place at the 2016 China Automotive S&T Award Ceremony. The company’s self-owned battery management system (BMS) is a national leader, with high security and low attenuation. Besides, fuel consumption of the electrical control system is among the world’s best. The self-developed battery pack has been approved by Underwriter Laboratories Inc (UL) and also meets the IP67-class standards.

In terms of internet-connected technology, SAIC Motor has partnered up with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to jointly build “cars on the internet”. Their jointly-developed product is the Roewe RX5, the world’s first internet-connected SUV. The new vehicle has caught people’s attention since its launch, with monthly sales of 20,000 units. Furthermore, SAIC Motor has combined the service platform with vehicles to differentiate itself from competitors. So far, its internet car services cover finance, insurance, parking, maintenance, navigation, music, charging and sharing. In April 2017, sales of passenger cars hit 416,000 units, an increase of 118 percent. Three models – the Roewe RX5, i6 and MG ZS – accounted for 78.8 percent of total sales.

SAIC Motor has completed the development of two generations of intelligent vehicle platforms, and also conducted research on technology for self-driving vehicles on highways and in urban areas. In January this year, SAIC Motor became a member of 5G Automotive Association in Asia, the only Chinese member of the association.

In April, SAIC Motor displayed one of its intelligent-driving vehicles – the MG iGS – in Jiading district, Shanghai. The company showcased the functions of auto direction changing, auto navigation and dual control.

Furthermore, SAIC Motor has founded the Global Car Sharing & Rental Co Ltd to offer timeshare leasing services for electric cars. As of 2016, the car-sharing company launched 8,400 new energy cars and built 3,400 service stations in 24 cities. The registered number of members currently exceeds 630,000, with monthly orders topping 500,000. The service is scheduled to cover 100 cities by 2020, and involve 300,000 vehicles. The Global Car Sharing & Rental Co Ltd will focus on the technologies of auto charging, intelligent parking and solar energy storage to build itself into a world-class timeshare rental service provider of new energy vehicles.

In the coming years, SAIC Motor will insist on intelligence and sharing to boost innovation-driven development.