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Daniel Ren

Themis Qi

This year’s Auto China, the world’s largest car show, is likely to mark a watershed for Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers as they push dozens of new premium models into the spotlight, challenging European manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Leading EV makers in mainland China, from BYD and Geely to Leapmotor and Nio, will showcase their latest models at the 10-day show, which starts in Beijing on Friday, having moved up the value chain through the rapid adoption of technological advances.
“Chinese EV brands will feel confident in promoting their new models priced above 300,000 yuan (US$43,978),” said Qian Kang, who runs a vehicle circuit board factory in Zhejiang province. “They will make the most of the Beijing auto show to convey the message to the global automotive industry and consumers around the world.”
The show’s organisers say 1,451 models will be displayed at the China International Exhibition Centre and the Capital International Exhibition Centre – the two venues for the event – until May 3. The exhibition area will be nearly 50 per cent bigger than it was at the previous show in 2024, hitting 380,000 square metres (4.09 million sq ft).
Among the vehicles to be exhibited in Beijing, 181 will be making their global debuts.
EVs priced below 100,000 yuan (US$14,647) have been a key growth driver for the Chinese car market since 2023, with subsidies helping to attract thousands of young and low-income customers.
About 7 million cars priced between 100,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan – including petrol-powered and electric models – were sold on the mainland in 2024, accounting for a third of the market by volume, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
However, since the middle of last year, Beijing’s efforts to discourage an EV discount war and instead push carmakers to focus on technological innovation to bolster sales have prompted a pivot away from low-priced models to premium ones.
Nick Lai, head of auto research for the Asia-Pacific region at JPMorgan, said carmakers were now taking one of two paths: upgrading production techniques to reduce manufacturing costs and make their prices more attractive, or offering consumers new models that outperformed existing ones at the same price.
Tian Maowei, a sales ­manager at Yiyou Auto Service in Shanghai, said: “Wealthy consumers took a cue from the government directives, hunting for value-for-money electric cars whose intelligent features were much more advanced than those of established luxury brands. All the big players are resorting to premium models to improve profitability now that the brutal price war has come to an end.”
German marques BMW and Mercedes-Benz dominated the mainland’s premium car segment over the past two decades, but BMW reported a 12.5 per cent fall in car sales on the mainland last year, while Mercedes-Benz saw its sales slump 19.5 per cent.
William Li Bin, CEO of Shanghai-based EV maker Nio, said last month that it had outsold BMW in Shanghai and other developed cities in the fourth quarter of last year.
Nio will promote its new fully electric ES9 SUV, which features its self-developed five-nanometre Shenji driving assistance chip, at the Beijing show. The SUV has a 102-kilowatt-hour battery pack that gives it a driving range of 620km (385 miles).
Aito, an EV brand backed by Huawei Technologies, will unveil its refreshed M9 SUV, a luxury vehicle fitted with six lidar sensors and a digital cockpit.
Shenzhen-based carmaker BYD’s second-generation Great Tang SUV will showcase its superfast charging technology, which the company says will ease drivers’ range anxiety by allowing them to drive 830km after nine minutes of charging.
Analysts said China’s carmakers and its companies in the automotive supply chain stand at the vanguard of EV technology and production, buoyed by government support and consumers’ willingness to embrace innovation.
On Friday, Hesai Group, the world’s largest maker of vehicle lidar sensors, introduced technology it said would raise autonomous driving features to a new level by detecting colours to improve the reliability of object identification.
On Tuesday, Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, the world’s largest EV battery producer, announced that its sodium-ion batteries, an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, would be mass-produced and delivered in the fourth quarter of this year.
Sodium-ion technology uses a more widely available raw material and the batteries are cheaper to produce.


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10-day show in Beijing, the world’s largest, to feature 1,451 models and exhibition area of 380,000 square metres


10-day show in Beijing, the world’s largest, to feature 1,451 models and exhibition area of 380,000 square metres.


China’s premium EVs mount tech-powered challenge to BMW, Mercedes-Benz at expo

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}10-day show in Beijing, the world’s largest, to feature 1,451 models and exhibition area of 380,000 square metres

10-day show in Beijing, the world’s largest, to feature 1,451 models and exhibition area of 380,000 square metres