General Motors will team up with SAIC Motor Corporation to work on a new electric vehicle architecture in China.
The new architecture will be the first to be co-developed by the two companies after their Shanghai GM venture introduced the Chevrolet Sail electric concept last year.
Now under the new agreement they will use the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Centre to develop the architecture with engineers from both companies working on key components as well as vehicle structures. All of the resulting vehicles from the partnership will be sold in China under the Shanghai GM and SAIC brands with the two companies also using the architecture to build electric vehicles around the world for their own purposes.
GM and SAIC have worked together for some time, with the latest agreement being a follow-up to the non-binding memorandum of understanding signed in November last year in which they pledged to collaborate in certain core areas of their business including the development of new energy vehicles.
It is believed that the latest venture will leverage SAIC’s local market knowledge and expertise while also drawing on GM’s electric vehicle development and global know-how.
