Quality is the key element to an enterprise’s sustenance. In the early 1990’s, in order to improve the quality of Santana parts made by local suppliers, SAIC Group was the first to set up “special production zone” among the parts suppliers. Based on “lean production” and guided by the advanced method of quality management in the world, SAIC optimized and exercised strict and special management over all the essential factors of production (i.e. man, machine, material, method, environment, etc.) to ensure that the products satisfy the users. “Special production zone” became a regional management model for companies under SAIC. Besides, SAIC Group also implemented the management mode of “zero defect” within the automotive industry, thus greatly improving the overall quality management of companies under SAIC.

Quality is also the core of the corporate culture. In face of stern challenges of hot market competition in China and the internationalization of domestic markets since the beginning of the new century, SAIC Group initiated its core values that centered on the “satisfaction of users”, which was taken as the sole criterion of quality inspection and, by the use of “three discoveries” (i.e. discovery of users nearby, discovery of user dissatisfactions and discovery of methods to raise the customer satisfaction), carried out the customer satisfaction project in an all-round way, thus improving the product quality, the service and the working style in all respects with a remarkable drop of defects per thousand vehicles and substantial lowering of PPM of parts and components.

To raise the quality competitiveness, SAIC Group speeded up the introduction of world’s advanced quality standards and quality inspection methods, and implemented them in synchrony with overseas carmakers. SAIC actively implemented the ISO/TS16949 international quality certification and accreditation system. In the recent years, 53 companies within SAIC Group have been granted 49 certificates of ISO/TS16949:2002.

During the period from 2001 to 2004, SAIC Group won the honors of “National Model Enterprise of Quality-based Economy”, “National Model Enterprise of Quality Management”, “State Quality Management Excellent Enterprise”, etc. SVW, SGM, Yanfeng Visteon, Shanghai Koito, Shanghai GKN and some other companies won the honors of “User Satisfying Enterprise”, and their products were entitled “User Satisfying Products”.