By | Duoke

Source | Beiduo Business & Beiduo Finance

On April 24th, Beijing welcomed a day of perfect weather—neither too hot nor too cold. The China International Exhibition Center in Shunyi, paired with the newly inaugurated Capital International Convention and Exhibition Center, spanned an impressive 380,000 square meters, setting a new global benchmark for auto show scale...

According to public data, the event showcased 1,451 vehicles, including 181 debut models, 71 concept cars, and a plethora of cutting-edge tech scenes, such as embodied robots. Honestly, before arriving, I thought I was well-prepared, but once inside, I realized my efforts were in vain.

It was like thinking you've memorized the menu, only to discover the chef has added dozens of new dishes—completely unexpected. The theme of this auto show, "Leading the Era, Intelligent Future," signifies the unstoppable surge of new energy and intelligent technologies.

After traversing a dozen halls and amassing tens of thousands of steps, my heels felt like they belonged to someone else. The only thought lingering in my mind was, "The Chinese auto market is truly fierce, so intense it's suffocating."

Xiaomi Booth: Enduring Lines for a Model Car That Tests Your Sanity

If there's a "top star" at this Beijing Auto Show, Xiaomi Auto undoubtedly makes the list—both for the massive crowds and Lei Jun's relentless marketing efforts.

While other booths were bustling, they remained contained within the halls. Xiaomi Auto's booth, however, transcended spatial boundaries, with lines stretching from inside the hall all the way outside.

Lei Jun truly excels at marketing. Before the show, he announced: Visit the Xiaomi booth for a free 1:64 scale alloy model car, plus a limited-edition Capri Blue bottled water—one per person, with 100,000 model cars available on a first-come, first-served basis. On April 24th, media day, the line for model cars seemed endless—a true testament to the power of queues.

But Xiaomi's booth wasn't just about model cars. The SU7, SU7 Ultra, and YU7 were all on display. Meanwhile, the Vision Gran Turismo concept car took center stage—its domestic debut—with the bare body shell and a fully disassembled SU7 on display for all to see. Even Lei Jun himself stood at the booth for hours, shaking hands with early arrivals one by one, and shared some impressive data: Xiaomi Auto has delivered over 655,000 vehicles, with 26,000 deliveries of the new-generation SU7 and orders exceeding 60,000.

Additionally, Lei Jun gifted custom T-shirts to fellow automakers: "Hear Me Out" to Li Xiang, "All Good Peng Friends" to He Xiaopeng, "Charge Together" to Li Bin, and "Together, We Are Chinese Autos" to Wang Chuanfu... Later, Lei Jun posted on social media: "Hear Me Out: All Good Peng Friends, Charge Together! Together, We Are Chinese Autos."

BYD: Dominating E3 Hall—A Display of Extravagance

If Xiaomi is the traffic king, BYD is the "landlord" of this auto show. They took over the entire E3 hall, lining up their four major brands—Dynasty, Ocean, Denza, Yangwang, and Fangchengbao—in a row. While others set up booths inside the hall, BYD built a "mini dynasty" within it.

Notably, the Dynasty Network’s first full-size flagship SUV, the Datang, officially opened global pre-orders with a price range of 250,000 to 320,000 yuan. What does that entail? Nearly 5.3 meters long, over 3.1 meters of wheelbase, 2.41-meter integrated daytime running lights with a "flying eave dawn-breaking" design, dual zero-gravity seats in the front row, a second-row backrest angle 12 degrees steeper than a Maybach, Devialet sound system, the world’s largest 252-liter electric front trunk, and a 950-km range...

Meanwhile, in the Ocean series, the Seal 08, Sea Lion 08, and the concept car OCEAN-V made their debuts, covering sedans, SUVs, and MPVs. Not to mention, the Denza Z convertible made its global debut, Fangchengbao unveiled its new sedan series "Fangcheng S" and the mass-produced sports car concept "FORMULA X," while Yangwang went even further, premiering the U9X "Dawn Moment" mass-produced version and the U8L Dingzang Edition.

On the tech front, the Divine Eye 5.0, second-generation Blade Battery, and flash-charging technology all made appearances. Flash-charging at -30°C lets you "charge for 5 minutes, drive for 2 hours" even in Northeast China. BYD even set up dedicated zones for the "Divine Eye" and flash-charging tech, along with an outdoor experience area.

Li Auto: Li Xiang Says "Hear Me Out," Then Unveils the L9 Livis

Li Auto brought the all-new L9 Livis for its global debut, with a pre-sale price of 559,800 yuan and an official launch and delivery date of May 15th.

Li Xiang introduced two "world firsts" on-site: the world’s first 800V active suspension developed for a full-size SUV, with a maximum single-wheel lift force exceeding 10,000 N and independent wheel control; and the world’s first fully drive-by-wire chassis system, incorporating steer-by-wire, rear-wheel steering, and drive-by-wire mechanical braking. In simpler terms: Driving a large SUV through corners will no longer feel like steering a boat.

Interestingly, after unveiling the L9 Livis, Li Xiang visited Volkswagen’s booth to discuss range-extender technology. A range-extender specialist chatting with a fuel-powered automaker about range extenders—the scene was somewhat surreal. Meanwhile, the ideal MEGA (Li Mega), i8, i6, and L6 also made appearances, giving Li Auto a full-house presence.

XPENG: Not Just Usable, Not Just Flyable—But Even Smarter

XPENG’s lineup at this show can be summed up in two words: "Sci-fi." Their recently released flagship full-size SUV, the XPENG GX, has a pre-sale price of 399,800 yuan and is equipped with a full-stack domain-controlled self-researched AI drive-by-wire intelligent chassis. The all-new P7, 2026 X9, and 2026 MONA M03 also debuted together.

But the eye-catchers weren't just the cars—there were also flying cars and embodied robots. The flying car refers to the "Land Aircraft Carrier" modular flying car, while the embodied robot is the next-gen humanoid robot IRON. Of course, XPENG isn’t the only automaker venturing into low-altitude economy and embodied robots—but they’ve been at it for a while.

In March this year, XPENG rebranded as "XPENG Group," embarking on a new journey in physical AI. Currently, this dream includes intelligent electric vehicles, flying cars, Turing AI chips, VLA autonomous driving models, the humanoid robot IRON, Robotaxi, and more.

Leapmotor: The Model of Quiet Success

Leapmotor did something practical at this show—the Lafa5 Ultra officially launched, with a limited-time price of 118,800 to 124,800 yuan. The Lafa5 has sold over 20,000 units in three months, dominating the 90,000 to 130,000 yuan pure electric coupe market. This Ultra version enhances sporty performance and intelligent config, aiming to solidify its grip on this price segment.

To grab attention, Leapmotor brought in the host of Media Storm to serve as a one-day host for the Lafa5 Ultra, building hype. In fact, Leapmotor founder Zhu Jiangming didn’t sit idle on media day either—he specifically visited the NIO ES9 and BYD Datang booths for "research and learning"—the former as a study sample, the latter a direct competitor to the Leapmotor D19.

Zhu also said: "The Chinese auto market has limited capacity. Survival depends on not operating at a loss, which in turn requires scale—without scale, there is no future." Correspondingly, Leapmotor delivered over 110,000 vehicles globally in Q1 this year, with over 40,000 wholesale exports overseas—a true model of quiet success.

Chery: 57 Vehicles on Display, Emphasizing Win-Win Collaboration

Chery made a massive splash at this show—57 vehicles, can you believe it?

The all-new Tiggo 9 launched, featuring a redesigned front fascia, upgraded lighting, dual-L daytime running lights, a cockpit-style interior with a curved display, console shifter, and "Queen’s Co-Pilot" seat, plus a 2.0T engine with a maximum power of 192 kW—a solid counterattack for fuel-powered vehicles. The Fengyun A9 also opened for pre-orders, while the Tiggo X made its debut, along with the Arrizo S, Arrizo X, Fengyun T8...

At the show, Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue emphasized Chery’s philosophy: "Quality matters more than sales, innovation matters more than profit, and partners matter more than Chery itself!" Additionally, Li Xueyong introduced Chery’s new energy transition strategy, stating that Chery will pursue a synchronized fuel-electric route, fully leveraging its four brands: Chery Fengyun, Chery iCAR, Jetour Shanhai, and Exeed Stellar Era.

Final Thoughts

My four biggest takeaways from this Beijing Auto Show:

First, new energy has shifted from a "trend" to a "reality." Over half of the faces at the booths were foreign—they weren’t there to gawk, but to "copy notes." Fuel-powered vehicles are retreating to the fringes—not just a slogan, but a visible scene in the halls. But retreat doesn’t mean no innovation; the core market remains, and it can still be highly intelligent. Meanwhile, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi are actively transforming, seeking competitive edges in the new era.

Second, drive-by-wire chassis systems have become the new "arms race" among new forces. Ideal, XPENG, and others are heavily investing in fully drive-by-wire chassis, making 2026 likely the first year of mass production—whoever lands it first secures a ticket to the next round of competition.

Third, interestingly, the Beijing Auto Show is turning into a "tech expo + carnival." Xiaomi gave away model cars, Chery and BYD hosted immersive interactions, XPENG showcased flying cars and robots... Just looking at cars isn’t enough anymore—you need to see the tech, the experience, and who knows how to entertain better.

Fourth, supply chain maturity is rising. Automakers and core supply chain companies can now shine in the same hall, with Huawei, Baidu, iFLYTEK, Horizon Robotics, and others all having independent booths, while startups like Momenta and Pony.ai are also thriving.

As for my legs? I’ll talk to my doctor about that!