SAIC Motor EV Platforms

MG · IM · Wuling · joint ventures

SAIC builds EVs on its own platforms, on its partners' platforms and on platforms it now sells to partners. The direction of licensing has reversed: Audi's new China brand rides on SAIC's IM architecture.

Map of SAIC Motor EV platforms in three rows. SAIC-developed: Nebula / MSP (first-generation MG4 and Cyberster, 400 V, One Pack battery), the E3 platform (second-generation MG4 in China, LFP or semi-solid-state battery), and the IM architecture (IM L6, LS6, IM5, IM6, 800 V class). Joint ventures and commercial: GSEV from SAIC-GM-Wuling (Hongguang Mini EV, Air EV, Bingo, small LFP packs) and MAXUS light commercial EVs (eDeliver 3, 7, 9 and the MIFA 9 MPV). Western platforms in SAIC plants: VW MEB at SAIC-VW Anting (ID.4 X, ID.6 X) and GM Ultium at SAIC-GM (Cadillac Lyriq, Buick Electra E5). An arrow shows the IM architecture licensed to SAIC Audi as the Advanced Digitized Platform for the AUDI E5 Sportback. SAIC EV PLATFORMS: OWN, JOINT VENTURE, LICENSED SAIC-DEVELOPED Nebula / MSP MG4 gen 1, Cyberster 400 V, One Pack E3 platform MG4 gen 2 (China) LFP or semi-solid IM architecture IM L6, LS6, IM5, IM6 800 V class SAIC JOINT VENTURES AND COMMERCIAL GSEV (Wuling) Mini EV, Air EV, Bingo small LFP packs MAXUS LCV eDeliver 3, 7, 9 MIFA 9 MPV WESTERN PLATFORMS IN SAIC PLANTS, AND ONE LICENSED OUT MEB (SAIC-VW) ID.4 X, ID.6 X Anting MEB plant Ultium (SAIC-GM) Lyriq, Electra E5 Shanghai plants ADP (SAIC Audi) AUDI E5 Sportback IM-derived, 800 V licensedto Audi
Own platforms
Nebula, E3, IM
JV platforms
MEB, Ultium, GSEV
Licensed out
ADP to Audi
EU duty on SAIC BEVs
35.3%
Hub
Systems

Finding

SAIC runs more EV platforms than any other automaker group, and its newest one is good enough that a German premium brand licensed it

SAIC Motor builds battery-electric cars on six or more architectures at once: MG's Nebula (MSP) and E3, IM Motors' 800-volt architecture, Wuling's GSEV microcar base, MAXUS commercial platforms, and the Western platforms its joint ventures assemble - Volkswagen's MEB at SAIC-VW and GM's Ultium at SAIC-GM. In 2025 SAIC Audi launched the AUDI E5 Sportback on the Advanced Digitized Platform, which shares its motors, battery, electric controls and structure with the IM L6.

Each platform maps to a market. Nebula carried the first MG4 (sold in China as the Mulan) into Europe from 2022: rear-wheel drive, 400 volts, and a 110 mm-thin One Pack battery offered in LFP and NCM versions with cells from CATL and the SAIC-CATL joint venture. The 2025 MG4 for China moved to the front-drive E3 platform with 42.8 and 53.9 kWh LFP packs and an option for a semi-solid-state pack from SAIC-backed QingTao Energy. IM Motors, owned by SAIC with Alibaba and Zhangjiang Hi-Tech, is the premium and technology line: 800-volt-class charging, the Lingxi digital chassis with rear-wheel steering, NVIDIA Orin compute with Momenta driver assistance, and a 133 kWh QingTao semi-solid-state pack in the L6. IM5 and IM6 are exported under the MG badge.

Volume sits at the bottom of the range. SAIC-GM-Wuling's Global Small Electric Vehicle (GSEV) architecture produced the Hongguang Mini EV, China's best-selling EV in 2021, and carries the Air EV and Bingo; the Air EV is built in Indonesia and sold in India as the MG Comet. MAXUS uses its own commercial architecture for the eDeliver van family and the MIFA 9 electric MPV. Exports face a hard ceiling in Europe: the EU's countervailing duty on China-built battery-electric cars is highest for SAIC, at 35.3% on top of the standard 10% import tariff, which pushes MG toward plants in Thailand, India and eventually Europe. SAIC's Star Cloud platform and its Huawei-partnered Shangjie brand also carry plug-in and range-extended models and are outside this page.

Lineup

SAIC EV platform lineup

Battery-electric platforms only. Model lists are brief; see the EV Platform Index for full coverage.

SAIC Motor EV platforms
PlatformOwner or JVVoltageBattery and structureRepresentative modelsMain plants
Nebula / MSP (Modular Scalable Platform)SAIC (MG)400 VOne Pack 110 mm pack; LFP or NCM; CATL and SAIC-CATL cellsMG4 gen 1, MG Cyberster, MG S5 EVLingang (Shanghai), Ningde (Fujian)
E3 platformSAIC (MG)400 VLFP 42.8 or 53.9 kWh; QingTao semi-solid-state optionMG4 gen 2 (China)China
IM architectureIM Motors (SAIC, Alibaba, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech)800 V class on newer modelsNCM; QingTao semi-solid-state pack (133 kWh) on L6IM L7, LS7, L6, LS6; MG IM5, IM6Lingang (Shanghai)
Advanced Digitized Platform (ADP)SAIC Audi (IM-derived)800 VCATL NCM, about 100 kWhAUDI E5 SportbackSAIC-VW, Anting
GSEV (Global Small Electric Vehicle)SAIC-GM-WulingLow voltage, small packsLFP, roughly 10-30 kWhHongguang Mini EV, Air EV, Bingo, Baojun KiWi; MG Comet (India)Liuzhou; Indonesia
MAXUS commercial architecture (MILA)SAIC MAXUS400 VProgram dependenteDeliver 3, 7, 9; MIFA 9 MPVWuxi and other SAIC plants
MEBSAIC-VW (Volkswagen platform)400 VModule-based pack, NCMID.3, ID.4 X, ID.6 XAnting MEB plant (Shanghai)
UltiumSAIC-GM (GM platform)400 VPouch NCM modulesCadillac Lyriq, Buick Electra E4 and E5Shanghai

Timeline

Platform timeline

Dates are first production or launch in China unless noted.

SAIC EV platform milestones
YearMilestone
2020Wuling Hongguang Mini EV launches on GSEV; IM Motors founded; SAIC-VW Anting MEB plant starts production
2021SAIC presents the Nebula battery-electric platform and One Pack battery
2022MG4 (Mulan) launches on Nebula and reaches Europe; IM L7 deliveries begin
2024EU sets a 35.3% countervailing duty on SAIC's China-built battery-electric cars; IM L6 launches with a semi-solid-state option
2025AUDI E5 Sportback on the IM-derived ADP goes into production at Anting; second-generation MG4 moves to the E3 platform with a semi-solid-state option
2026QingTao and SAIC push toward all-solid-state cells; MG IM5 and IM6 sold in Europe and Australia

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope
SAIC Motor EV Platforms
Sources
SAIC Motor, IM Motors and MG releases; SAIC Audi (2025); electrive (MG4, September 2025); European Commission countervailing duty decision (October 2024)
Updated
October 2026