The model could be based on the Baojun KiWi EV and equipped with DJI's D80/D80+ smart driving system.

SAIC-GM-Wuling, maker of the well-known Mini EV, will unveil the first model to use drone maker DJI's smart driving solutions, after they announced their partnership a year ago.

The world's first new energy production model with DJI's in-car system is coming soon, SAIC-GM-Wuling said in a press release on Thursday, without providing a specific date.

SAIC-GM-Wuling is a joint venture between SAIC Group, General Motors and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile, based in Liuzhou city in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

It sells vehicles built on the GSEV (Global Small Electric Vehicle) architecture in China, including the Mini EV, KiWi EV and Nano EV, all priced below RMB 100,000.

SAIC-GM-Wuling did not announce information on the upcoming new model, although an image in its press release hints that the model may be built based on the KiWi EV.

(Image credit: SAIC-GM-Wuling)

SAIC-GM-Wuling announced on the first day of the Shanghai auto show last April 19 that DJI's smart driving solutions will be used in its Baojun brand. The KiWi EV is one of the models under Baojun.

SAIC-GM-Wuling and DJI have started a deep strategic cooperation planning in 2019, and over the years, both parties have invested RMB billions in a joint smart driving development team, according to its press release.

Based on the complex traffic and travel situation in China, the joint team has accumulated more than 1 million kilometers of road tests, according to SAIC-GM-Wuling.

With the results of this collaboration about to be put to use, a new era of smart driving is about to dawn on the Chinese automotive market, and smart driving for everyone will become a reality, said SAIC-GM-Wuling.

DJI announced its automotive business, DJI Automotive, in April 2021 and said it had been doing business in the automotive parts space for five years.

DJI said DJI Automotive is dedicated to serving the mobility market with space intelligence technology, focusing on the development, production and sales of intelligent driving systems and their core components.

By function and application scenario, DJI's intelligent driving system offers three solutions: DJI Intelligent Parking System; DJI Intelligent Driving D80/D80+; and DJI Intelligent Driving D130/D130+.

Among them, DJI Intelligent Parking System covers three application scenarios: assisted parking, memory parking and autonomous parking.

The D80/D80+ solution can cover the speed range from 0 to 80 km/h and is suitable for urban expressway scenarios.

The D130/D130+ solution includes all the functions of the D80/D80+, with the addition of active overtaking assistance, navigation and road change assistance, and lateral motion control functions such as emergency parking.

Judging from SAIC-GM-Wuling's model positioning, its first model built with DJI's technology will probably only use the lower-cost D80/D80+ solution.

In fact, at the Shanghai auto show at the end of April last year, CnEVPost has already seen the SAIC-GM-Wuling model built in cooperation with DJI, which is a Baojun KiWi EV with the text "Powered by DJI" printed on the body.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)