The Lin-gang Special Area Administration on Aug 19 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Yanfeng International Automobile Technology Co Ltd to set up a production and research center there for the company's smart cockpit support project.

Yanfeng is a wholly owned subsidiary of major Shanghai-based Chinese auto manufacturer SAIC Motor. To date, Yanfeng has established more than 240 production and research centers around the world.

Under the agreement, the planned Yanfeng center in the Lin-gang Special Area will create the company's biggest research and export center for intelligent car cockpit products, interior decorations and seat components in the world.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), it is expected that the development orientation of Lin-gang's intelligent new energy vehicles industry will become the leading area for future vehicles.

Projections are that by 2025, the scale of intelligent new energy vehicle operations in the area will exceed 300 billion yuan ($46.22 billion) – accounting for four fifths of Shanghai's total in the sector. The area will focus on electric chassis, intelligent cockpits, intelligent driving, intelligent cloud services and other fields.

Since the establishment of SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle Co (Lingang plant) in 2007, SAIC has become an important part of the economic development of the region. In the wake of the establishment of the Lin-gang Special Area, in particular, SAIC introduced a raft of projects.

Zhu Zhisong, secretary of the Party working committee of the Lin-gang Special Area, said the MOU marked the further expansion of the SAIC's Lingang base and the further improvement of the industrial supply chain for intelligent new energy vehicles in the Lin-gang Special Area.

The Lin-gang Special Area Administration signs an MOU with Yanfeng International Automobile Technology Co Ltd on Aug 19. [Photo/WeChat account: shlgguanweihui]