As the petrol engine’s primacy stutters, traditional industry expos like Paris and Detroit are scrambling to reinvent themselves – but in Shanghai the era of cleaner engines and AI-powered operating systems will be very much on display already.
China is now leading the charge in the sector.
In 2024 EVs and hybrids made up 26 and 19 percent respectively of total car sales in the country, according to Inovev.
“It’s the only country that manages to get the automobile sector’s industrial giants cohabiting with the innovation of a multitude of startups – operational excellence and [production] volume with innovation and daring,” Deloitte analyst Guillaume Crunelle told AFP.
Auto Shanghai, which runs until May 2, will see a flurry of launches for electric, high-tech new models – luxury SUVs, saloons and multi-purpose vehicles – all designed and built in record time.
Dozens of brands will take part, from state-owned behemoths to start-ups such as Li Auto and Xpeng, tech giants with skin in the game like Huawei, and consumer electronics-turned-car company Xiaomi.
Analysts consider the Chinese market, the world’s largest, younger-leaning and more open to novelty.
Many of its companies are also looking to expand overseas, in the hope increased sales in markets including Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America will safeguard their future.
Foreign carmakers have also found themselves caught out by the new market conditions, none more so than the Germans.
After years of market domination in China, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes have seen sales fall as domestic brands’ stars have risen.
Volkswagen is hoping to bounce back at this year’s show with three vehicles developed in and for China, a first for the German group, as well as an advanced autonomous driving system.
The group aims to revitalise itself through cost-cutting, helped by a partnership with China’s Xpeng.
German carmakers cannot give up entirely on China, though, especially with looming uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s threatened tariff rises on European countries.
One of the biggest US companies active in China, Tesla, will not be attending Auto Shanghai, despite its two massive factories in the city.
Elon Musk’s EV giant has not exhibited at a major car show in China since 2021, when a one-woman protest over an alleged brake failure went viral on social media. (AFP)
