SAIC-GM to establish software, digital team

SAIC-GM, General Motors’ joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp., plans to set up a separate team to develop software and digital features across its car and light-truck portfolio. 

The team will be established “in the near term,” SAIC-GM said on Tuesday. 

The move is intended to “accelerate the development and iteration of software technology of the company’s products as well as the creation of digital services and ecosystems,” it noted. 

SAIC-GM, headquartered in Shanghai, produces and markets Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet cars and light trucks. 

The company, like joint ventures of other legacy global automakers, is grappling with shrinking sales in China as the market shifts to smart electrified vehicles. 

July wholesale shipments at SAIC-GM slipped 26 percent year on year to 85,301, with year-to-date volume falling 14 percent to 536,259, according to SAIC.  

To shore up sales, SAIC-GM announced a plan in November to invest 70 billion yuan ($9.7 billion) in vehicle electrification and connectivity by 2025.