The biennial Auto Shanghai Show is traditionally a time for global automakers to flex their muscles and woo Chinese consumers. Yet this year’s edition, China’s first major auto exposition since the country reopened after Covid, has been very much dominated by local manufacturers.
The growing presence of Chinese brands reflected the mounting pressure on traditional global carmakers and also new makers such as Tesla, a notable absence at this year’s event. The US electric car pioneer launched one of its biggest-ever price cut campaigns this January, sparking a price war in China’s competitive EV market.
Below, TechNode highlights new releases and updates from major Chinese EV makers at the Auto Shanghai Show 2023, including BYD, Geely, Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto, which all displayed an impressive portfolio of electric vehicle models.
BYD: Song L concept, Chaser 07, and Seagull
As China’s best-selling new energy vehicle brand, BYD came to the exposition with a wide range of updates covering all major price points, from budget-friendly compact cars to luxury off-road sports vehicles, as well as everyday SUVs.
BYD’s main brand focused on three car models. The first one is the Song L concept car, a pure electric sports SUV equipped with an electric rear spoiler and BYD’s e-platform, and DiSus electric body control technology. BYD said it will be launched within the year but did not specify the exact model that will be made available or a launch time. The Song L may be a new supplement to BYD’s best-selling Song Plus SUV.
The brand also showcased the Chaser 07, a medium-sized plug-in sedan that is a new model in the Ocean family. It will be priced at RMB 200,000 to RMB 250,000 ($31,000-$39,000) and will be launched in the third quarter of this year. It is BYD’s effort to attract young car owners with an everyday hybrid.
At the same time, BYD also announced the start of pre-sales of its entry-level mini car Seagull, which is priced at a budget-friendly RMB 78,800 to RMB 95,800 ($12,200-$14,800), and has two driving ranges of 305 km or 405 km. The car is equipped with four safety airbags, an ESP electronic vehicle stability system, and a fast charging capability of 30kW or 40kW.
BYD’s luxury car brand Yangwang unveiled new versions of its U8 and U9 models at the auto show on Tuesday.
The U8, a new energy off-road vehicle with 1100 horsepower and the ability to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, has officially started pre-sales and comes in two versions: the luxury edition and the off-road player edition. The official pre-sale price for the luxury edition is nearly RMB 1.1 million($170,000) and the model is expected to be delivered in September. The off-road player edition will be delivered later, with no specific timeframe announced yet. This high-end off-road vehicle will use BYD’s independently developed core technologies, E4 technology and DiSus (Yunnian) intelligent hydraulic body control system.
Meanwhile, Yangwang also unveiled a new look for its luxury sports car the U9, which now features a rear wing design that was not present in the version unveiled in January this year. The delivery time and specific price of the U9 have not yet been announced.
Geely: Zeekr X, Lynk & Co 08, and overseas plans
Zeekr X, the first SUV model launched by the Geely-affiliated brand Zeekr, made its public debut during this year‘s Auto Shanghai. The vehicle is aimed at attracting the country’s growing young and affluent population with a price tag of RMB 189,800 ($27,590). This is lower than what one of the firm’s executives projected early this year, considered a reaction to a months-long price war first launched by Tesla and now engaged in by dozens of automakers.
Zeekr also announced detailed plans to expand into Europe. Regional CEO Spiros Fotinos announced on Tuesday that the company will open proprietary showrooms and begin delivering the X along with its 001 sedans in the Netherlands and Sweden later this year. The brand is expected to enter most western European countries by 2026, Fotinos added.
Geely on Tuesday also focused on the Lynk & Co 08, the first model equipped with its in-house produced in-car software co-developed with Meizu after the carmaker completed its acquisition of the Chinese smartphone maker last July. The plug-in hybrid will have a maximum driving range of 1,400 km and a power output of up to 400 kW, with vehicle delivery scheduled during the second half of this year, according to Lin Jie, a senior vice president at Geely Auto.
Volvo’s parent expects its Flyme digital cockpit system not only to offer a connected and seamless experience to users across devices with its latest crossover but also to provide additional computing power to existing vehicle models from Meizu smartphones. The mainstream luxury brand, jointly unveiled to the public by Geely and Volvo in 2016, plans to innovate its current dealership model by opening direct sales stores in major Chinese cities, Lin told the Economic Observer earlier this month.
Nio: 2023 ES6 crossover and ET7 sedan
Nio unveiled a new version of its popular ES6 sports utility vehicles, which the company boasts can hit a speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) within five seconds. The models also feature a supercomputer that can perform over 1,016 trillion operations per seconds (TOPS). Current Nio cars have a maximum driving range of 900 kilometers equipped with a 150 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery pack. The EV maker has not yet revealed the driving range of the updated vehicles.
The five-seat crossover has been the company’s most popular vehicle model since it was first introduced in December 2018, with total deliveries of more than 120,000 units at the time of writing. Official release dates and pricing details have yet to be announced, though the EV maker has now begun taking orders for the latest version of its ET7 sedans priced from RMB 458,000, which was first launched in January 2021.
Xpeng: G6 crossover
The G6 is Xpeng’s first offering built upon its latest SEPA vehicle architecture and is expected to be a key test of the company’s efforts to return to a leading position in the country’s crowded EV race. With an estimated price range of between RMB 200,000 and RMB 300,000, the midsize SUV is set to be a mainstream, high-volume model compared with its more premium-oriented G9 sibling.
The electric coupe SUV will be capable of traveling up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) on a 10-minute charge, empowered by an 800-volt silicon carbide power module. Meanwhile, the EV maker boasted of its assistant driving tech, claiming drivers will only need to control the car once per 1,000 kilometers in complex traffic environments with the latest version, which it will roll out later this year.
Li Auto: details of first all-electric model
Li Auto shared further details regarding its all-electric strategy at this year’s Auto Shanghai Show, co-announcing with CATL that its upcoming battery vehicle will be the first in the market to install the latter’s next-iteration Qilin battery that could provide a 4C charge rate. Charging at a 4C rate normally means that the battery could be charged from 0 to 100% in just 15 minutes, according to Quantumscape, a Volkswagen-backed battery startup and a spinout company from Stanford University.
Set to go on sale later this year, Li Auto’s first battery EV will also be built upon an 800-volt architecture for a range of up to 400 km after 10 minutes of fast charging. Chief engineer Ma Donghui added that the company is rushing to build 300 supercharging stations on Chinese highways by year-end and expand the number to 3,000 in three years, by which time it will have a lineup of at least five battery EVs. Li Auto currently has three plug-in hybrid crossovers on sale.
