Is Baojun a Domestic or Joint Venture Car Model?
4 Answers
Baojun is a domestic car model, which is an automobile brand under SAIC-GM-Wuling. Taking the Baojun 730 as an example, it is a 5-door, 7-seater MPV with body dimensions of 4685mm in length, 1785mm in width, and 1745mm in height, and a wheelbase of 2750mm. The Baojun 730 is equipped with a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine, delivering a maximum power of 77 kW at 5600 rpm and a maximum torque of 135 Nm between 3600 to 5200 rpm. Its front suspension adopts a MacPherson strut independent suspension, while the rear suspension uses a torsion beam semi-independent suspension.
I've been researching the automotive industry for over a decade, and this Baojun matter needs to be clarified. It's actually a brand created by SAIC-GM-Wuling, which itself is a joint venture between SAIC Group, General Motors, and Guangxi Automobile Group. However, the Baojun brand doesn't belong to GM's global system—it's a completely new brand developed specifically for the Chinese market. This model is called a 'joint venture indigenous brand' in the industry, being neither purely foreign nor purely domestic. It's somewhat like 'borrowing a hen to lay eggs,' using joint venture platforms and technology to build its own brand. Nowadays, models like the Baojun 730 and 510 running on the roads are all developed by Liuzhou R&D Center themselves, sporting a newly designed horse-head logo. Their configurations and pricing are all targeted at ordinary people's needs, so many simply view them as domestic brands.
Just the other day, I accompanied a friend to a 4S store and we talked about this. The sales consultant was quite straightforward, saying that Baojun is positioned as a people's car—you can see it's displayed alongside Wuling in the store. Although the company's shareholders include GM, the Baojun brand operates completely independently. The models are all developed by the Chinese team, the supply chain is mainly domestic, and even the 4S store system follows the same channels as other domestic car brands. I checked the data, and last year, 80% of Baojun's parts were locally sourced. Ordinary consumers don't care much about the equity structure; seeing the horse-head logo instead of the golden bowtie and the affordable prices, they naturally consider it a domestic brand.
Anyone in automotive R&D knows that Baojun's technology origins are key. Their early 560 model used a modified version of GM's L2B series 1.8L engine, and the 310W's chassis still shares the platform with the old Excelle. But recent changes have been significant - the new Yep is entirely independently designed, even its infotainment system was co-developed with Huawei. Strictly speaking, this brand blends cooperative and original technologies, though it's wholly owned by SAIC-GM-Wuling with marketing strategies tailored for the domestic market. Having attended their product meetings, I can confirm their R&D team consists entirely of Chinese engineers, with tuning specifically adapted to Chinese driving habits.
