BEIJING: Thousands squeezed into the world’s biggest car show on Friday, snapping selfies beside Chinese electric vehicles as automakers showcased AI, humanoid robots and flying-car ambitions in a cut-throat market.
Rows of influencers posed in front of gleaming models at the capital’s cavernous international exhibition centre, darting to suitcases stuffed with outfit changes, while animated CEOs worked the crowds in front of massive LED screens.
Legacy overseas brands such as Volkswagen, Toyota and BMW once dominated in China, but have lost market share in past years to domestic firms that beat them to the electric vehicle revolution and undercut them on price.
Chinese manufacturers including BYD, Xiaomi and XPeng are now also at the forefront of integrating AI software and autonomous driving technology into their EVs.
The Auto China exhibition, hosted at two side-by-side venues, spans 380,000 square metres, according to organisers -- more than 50 football pitches.
More than 1,400 vehicles from hundreds of Chinese and foreign companies were on display on Friday, when the show opened to industry professionals and the media. It will open to the public from April 28.
While traditional leading brands like Germany’s BMW and Mercedes held sweeping areas of the vast halls, most of the event’s mega stages were dominated by Chinese brands including BYD and battery giant CATL.
Robots, flying cars
At the sprawling expo, crowds cheered as XPeng chief executive He Xiaopeng unveiled the company’s new GX, a six-seat electric SUV.
The imposing 5.2-metre vehicle incorporates AI technology and is aimed at breaking into the luxury market, He said.
It would soon be followed by humanoid robots this year, He promised, and eventually by flying cars, which XPeng hopes to mass-produce.
Foreign automakers are increasingly collaborating with Chinese firms to stay competitive.
BMW has partnered with CATL, while Audi is using Huawei’s driving assistance systems and Volkswagen is co-developing EVs with Guangzhou-based XPeng.
XPeng President Brian Gu said companies were “leveraging their respective strength to collaborate with China”, a trend he said would continue.
Gu has his eyes set on export markets including the Gulf and Europe, where he anticipates growth to accelerate.
“In the last year, we started local production, and this year we are going to launch even more new products for the European market” which he said was responsible for half of XPeng’s global sales last year.
Asked how Trump’s tariffs were affecting XPeng, he said only that the US market remained an important one.
Fierce competition
This year, companies are also jostling to sell space, analysts say, with roomy SUVs’ new growth area targeting customers prioritising seating and comfort.
China “has become a customer retention and replacement/upgrade-driven market, and these big SUVs address that need”, independent analyst Lei Xing wrote in a blog this week.
Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2026
