Internet tech to lift auto industry, says SAIC chief

The combination of internet technology and the traditional automotive industry will become a major trend in the future, an industrial leader said on Monday.

"Electrification, intelligent connected vehicles, the sharing economy mode and internationalization will be the trend of the automotive industry," said Chen Hong, president of Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corp Ltd and also a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress.

The company obtained the country's first license for an unmanned vehicle open road test last week. The other company to do so is Nio Auto, a Shanghai-based developer of high-performance electric vehicles.