Having hit dealerships for just a little more than four months, Roewe RX5, the world’s first mass-produced internet-based car, saw sales in excess of 20,000 units for two consecutive months, indicating a strong market demand for internet vehicles.

In November, a total of 21,344 RX5s were sold. Driven by the new generation of products represented by RX5, SAIC’s passenger vehicle sales neared 275,000 units in January-November 2016, fulfilling the whole year’s target in advance. The figure represented an increase of more than 87 percent from the same period of 2015, far higher than the overall growth rate of the auto market.

RX5 came amid higher user demand on value and quality in the internet age. Thanks to SAIC’s consistent high quality, RX5 rapidly seized a share on the highly competitive SUV market, setting a growth standard for popular SUVs as well as all new rules for the internet-car market. Roewe maintained a high growth in 2016 despite a slow overall market, thanks to the company’s continuous investment in core technology over the past 10 years, correct judgment on frontier technology, development of future-oriented and sustainable new-generation products and technological systems, and formation of new growth points in intelligent and environmental-friendly transport.

Internet technology

As the internet is penetrating every corner of our life, consumers are also increasingly relying on the internet. Data showed that of RX5’s sales of nearly 70,000 units, more than 70 percent came for the internet version.

As the world’s first mass-produced car on the internet, RX5 comes with world-class intelligent internet technology, which assigns an independent ID to each user, who can lock or unlock the car, switch on the air conditioner and heat the seats through remote control, or operate the air conditioner, play music and turn on the navigation system through voice control, thus freeing the hands completely to allow more convenience as well as joy of driving. Besides, “black technologies” including self-adaptive map, double-blind positioning (i.e. when GPS and internet connection are unavailable) and self-service payment bring more brand-new experiences to motorists. Consumers are also provided with the option of video camera installation to facilitate instant sharing of photos and videos.

The internet version of RX5, priced from 148,800 to 186,800 yuan ($21,700-27,200), entered the core price range previously monopolized by joint-venture SUVs. It was also the first Chinese brand SUV to sell at more than 150,000 yuan, which gave a boost to Chinese brands’ confidence in overtaking their joint-venture counterparts.

Following RX5’s great success, its hybrid version eRX5, also the world’s first new energy car on the internet, hit dealerships in November. It is equipped with SAIC’s NetBlue and NetGreen systems and cutting-edge internet technologies, and will lead the auto industry to focus more on the development of highly-efficient and clean internal combustion engines, new energy technologies and intelligent internet technologies.

Hardware

In addition to internet technologies, consumers also attach great importance to a car’s hardware, and RX5 satisfies them well in all aspects.

First of all, RX5 gets SAIC’s NetBlue, the highly-efficient world-class powertrain, and its technology is at least two generations more advanced than rivals. It accelerates from 0 to 100 kph at least two seconds faster than SUVs of its class, the braking distance from 100 kph is at least two meters shorter, and fuel consumption per 100 km is 2L less. The 20T version has a direct-injected and turbocharged 1.5L engine with up to 169 hp of power and 250Nm of torque, meaning it is comparable to mainstream joint-venture 2.0L models, and is also highly fuel-efficient. During the world’s first internet car rally racing held in October, RX5 registered the lowest fuel consumption at 3.7L/100km, a new record for SUVs.

In addition, compared to rivals, RX5 has a “super screen”, a 10.4-inch high-definition capacitive touchscreen, and the largest interior soft trim area, as well as an ultra-large panorama sunroof with an effective area of 0.86 sqm to allow natural light in. These benefits are hailed by RX5 owners.

With full support from SAIC Chairman Chen Hong and Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, RX5 takes pride in its superior quality and internet “black technologies”, and offers a series of preferential policies to enable consumers to enjoy a superb driving experience at an affordable price. It has set a new “price-quality” standard for Chinese SUVs and ignited market demand. With SAIC’s Nanjing plant being put into operation and the upcoming shopping spree during Spring Festival, RX5 is likely to further help boost SAIC’s passenger vehicle sales to 300,000 units.