Forget about cruise control, automatic parking, active safety and self-leveling headlights. Those are all “out”! SAIC Motor invites you to visit Auto Shanghai 2015 on April 20 to see what China’s “future cars” are like, thanks to fantastic foresight technologies.

What is “foresight technology”? Why “foresight technology” and how? As China’s leading auto group, SAIC gives its own answer: Gaining impetus from the bright prospects of foresight technologies, SAIC plans to set up a venture capital firm and an innovation center in Silicon Valley. The company will take a “differentiated” approach to foresight technology research, featuring the combination of technology and capital and focusing on new energy, new materials and intelligent interconnection to find out what the auto industry needs for its future development.

The Shanghai auto show will be the best stage to showcase SAIC’s latest achievements in foresight technologies, with two models of the company’s self-developed “future cars” ready to reveal the “green, smart travel life of the future”.

IGS, the smart driving car that allows driving-while-watching-movies

Some day if a car passes by but there is no driver, don’t call the police. It is neither a trick designed to escape the parking bill, nor a car driven by a bold kid; it is a smart driving car, which does not need a driver at all. It uses its “eyes” (camera and radar) to observe the surrounding environment, relies on its “brain” (control software) for command, and uses its limbs (throttle, brake, gear shift and steering gear) to move.

Imagine, perhaps in just three, five years’ time, human beings will witness such an amazing change in their lives: A gentle touch on a smartphone will instruct a car to move out of a parking spot automatically, and then to your side. While driving, the car can self-plan travel routes, speed up or slow down depending on the road situation, avoid barriers, change to a different traffic lane, overtake another car and keep a proper distance between cars, all done automatically.

Upon arriving at the destination, another touch on the handset screen will enable the car to seek a nearby parking lot and finish parking, automatically.

IGS cars, the second generation of SAIC’s self-developed smart driving cars, are making progress according to this roadmap. The IGS cars on display at the Shanghai auto show have undergone road testing. At a speed of 60-120 km/h, it has achieved initial self-driving functions including remote control parking, cruise control, automatic car following, lane keeping, lane changing and autonomous overtaking. In addition to presenting the cars, a video will also demonstrate these features at the auto show.

Hydrogen cars, the super environmentally-friendly cars

Hydrogen fuel cells sound complicated, but the theory is quite simple: Hydrogen and oxygen react to generate electricity, which in turn drives the car. Hydrogen gas is a kind of recyclable clean energy and does not emit carbon dioxide. It takes a short time to refuel a hydrogen car, which has roughly the same fuel mileage as conventional gas-powered cars. Therefore, we can say that fuel cells are the ultimate goal of new energy vehicles.

The Roewe 950 plug-in fuel cell to be displayed at the Shanghai auto show is a fourth-generation fuel cell developed independently by SAIC. It is filled with hydrogen gas and discharges water. A refuel, which takes just a few minutes, can provide power for over 400 km of travel, and the maximum speed of the car can reach 160 km/h.

The fuel cell also features an external power generator, or a “mobile power station”. Using the car to charge other appliances, including a hybrid sedan’s batteries, all you need is a plug adapter. Just imagine how cool it would be to use a car to power your rice cooker, coffee maker, stereo systems and even a small fridge while admiring beautiful scenery outdoors.

In the future, more environmentally-friendly, intelligent and safe cars will bring a harmonious life without traffic lights. Human beings will enjoy a pollution-free life where everything is recycled.

SAIC is willing to paint this beautiful future together with our customers, and make ceaseless efforts to create a refreshing, free and harmonious car society.