(Yicai Global) Aug. 27 -- SAIC Motor’s shares rose after the Chinese automaker reported a 59 percent surge in first-half profit from a year earlier, driven by sales of new energy vehicles. The partner of Volkswagen and General Motors also said it will establish a commercial vehicle autonomous-driving unit.

After gaining as much as 4.4 percent earlier today, SAIC [SHA:600104] finished 2.8 percent up at CNY18.89 (USD2.92). The stock is still down 25 percent this year.

Net profit was CNY13.3 billion (USD2.1 billion) in the six months ended June 30, compared with CNY8.4 billion a year earlier, the Shanghai-based firm said in an earnings report released yesterday. Revenue jumped 30 percent to CNY356.6 billion (USD55 billion).

SAIC, one of China’s ‘big four’ automakers, attributed the strong results to the country’s effective suppression of the coronavirus and the subsequent recovery in China’s auto market, the world’s biggest. The firm’s first-half NEV sales more than quadrupled to 280,000 units, while its total sales rose 12.2 percent to 2.3 million.

SAIC did not publish an earnings forecast for the current period, but said that it will make every effort to secure automotive chips, as production and sales have been significantly affected by the global shortage.

The carmaker also laid out plans to invest CNY542 million (USD83.6 million) with Shanghai International Port Group and Hengxu Capital into newly formed Youdao Zhitu Technology, a Shanghai-based commercial vehicle self-driving unit, which it described as one of its “small giants of scientific innovation.”

Youdao Zhitu will rely on the technology and experience of Yangshan Port’s ‘5g + L4’ smart heavy truck project, focus on L4 and L3 self-driving products in specific scenarios, and create a new business model of ‘technology + product + operation.’

It plans to release a new L3 smart heavy truck within this year to carry out commercially ply certain routes. It will also integrate park and terminal logistics to form a ‘door-to-door’ autonomous driving network for commercial vehicles by 2023.

Together with SAIC Iveco Hongyan Commercial Vehicle, Yudao Zhitu will also develop a pure electric and hydrogen fuel cell smart driving system for heavy trucks that is expected to reach the market by December.

Editor: Futura Costaglione