Traffic concerns persist, yet they no longer overshadow the event.

On April 23, the 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (hereinafter referred to as the "Shanghai Auto Show") kicked off. Dianchetong dispatched a seasoned reporting team thousands of miles to Shanghai to witness this grand gathering of automotive and technological innovations up close.

(Photo courtesy of Dianchetong)

As one of the most influential A-class international auto shows globally, this year's Shanghai International Auto Show maintained its grandeur, featuring nearly 1,000 renowned Chinese and foreign enterprises from 26 countries and regions, occupying a total exhibition area exceeding 360,000 square meters.

Leading automakers showcased their latest heavyweight models, with over 100 all-new vehicles making their debut. The all-new Lexus ES, Tengshi Z, Yangwang U8L, ZEEKR 9X, FAW Audi A6L e-tron, among others, marked automakers' efforts to stay ahead in the new energy vehicle race and set new benchmarks in the premium segment.

At this auto show, electrification has ceased to be a novelty. Strictly speaking, the automotive industry has transitioned from oil to electricity and has entered a new phase focused on intelligence. The cutting-edge new players in automotive manufacturing remain the spotlight of the event.

However, incidents of new energy vehicle fires and frequent accidents involving intelligent driving, coupled with the industry's cautious approach to promoting intelligent driving and emphasis on automotive safety, are steering the entire auto show towards a more pragmatic direction.

What was the scene like in person? After visiting the new automotive forces (NIO, XPeng, Li Auto, etc.) and the emerging new forces (Xiaomi, HarmonyOS Drive, and other players with an Internet technology background), Xiao Tong is eager to share his firsthand observations.

New forces unveil new cars in a flurry, drawing significant foot traffic

Among the new automotive forces, XPeng Motors' booth was undoubtedly the most popular.

With the MONA M03 and P7+ models, XPeng Motors has reclaimed the top 3 spot in monthly sales among new automotive forces. Domestic sales have rebounded, and XPeng Motors' overseas expansion has stabilized.

The XPeng Motors booth was not only packed but also featured quite a few foreigners, some in suits and ties, seemingly senior executives visiting for exchanges, adding an "international flair" to the scene.

It is rumored that a few days prior, a group of multinational corporation executives had already visited the exhibition for participation and test drives, opting for models from new force brands like XPeng, Li Auto, NIO, and Wenjie. Perhaps the foreigners at the XPeng Motors booth were related to this.

(Photo courtesy of Dianchetong)

Incidentally, strictly speaking, XPeng is no longer purely an automotive company but an AI technology company. Cars, AI robots, and the latest land mothership were all present. "Red Shirt Preacher" Zhou Hongyi even shook hands and interacted with XPeng's IRON robot, drawing numerous visitors.

Capitalizing on the popularity of its new cars, XPeng Motors also unveiled the ultra-long-range Max flagship version of the P7+ equipped with a 5C battery, boasting a 10-minute energy replenishment of 420km and a price tag of 208,800 yuan. It is also the industry's first pure electric vehicle with first-level energy efficiency certification. Zhou Hongyi described it as "unfairly competitive".

Li Auto presented its latest product matrix, with the L6 welcoming brand-new intelligent driving hardware and new color options. All models come standard with LiDAR, and the new green color is also quite appealing.

The most notable is the Mega Home, which appears similar to the old model except for the slimmer LiDAR hardware. The biggest change lies within, where Li Auto has added a rotating function akin to a "baby bus" for the second row. When it was first unveiled, it also attracted many media professionals to take photos and experience it.

(Photo courtesy of Dianchetong)

Additionally, Li Auto's exhibition hall was not as crowded as XPeng Motors' booth, as there was only one truly new product, and the pure electric SUV i8 was absent from this Shanghai Auto Show. The rest were all existing models that had been on the market for some time, but overall, there were still many people viewing cars.

Several foreigners also showed keen interest in Li Auto, carefully examining the Mega and L9 models. There were also overseas media professionals who had traveled from afar to report.

NIO's popularity was also not very high. Xiao Tong believes the reason is similar to that of Li Auto, as they did not bring very significant new products. The upgraded versions of the ES, EC, and ET series did not make an appearance, but the battery swap demonstration area and the technology flagship ET9 did garner some attention.

Surprisingly, just as Xiao Tong was visiting the NIO booth, BMW Group executives arrived in a group. They headed straight to the ET9 and then experienced its Skyline chassis. Judging by their facial expressions, their impression of this domestic luxury flagship should be quite favorable.

When the public days open, NIO's battery swap station demonstration will undoubtedly draw many children. Battery swapping remains this automaker's exclusive advantage, and finding a breakthrough point in cognitive output still has to start with children.

In terms of foot traffic alone, NIO's sub-brands Letao and Firefly performed averagely, with more staff than visitors. As one of the few new cars making their debut, the Letao L90 and Firefly did not attract many people when Xiao Tong visited.

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However, the Letao L90 was not open for experiencing. That is to say, when the Letao L90 was first unveiled, Li Bin and Letao's Yu Bin sat together in the front trunk to demonstrate fishing on the spot, drawing more people to watch the excitement. In crucial moments, it still had to rely on Li Bin's internet celebrity "Buff" to give it a boost.

The Firefly, which was already open for experiencing, received relatively more attention from visitors. Those who had experienced it unanimously praised the exquisite interior, and for the initial doubts and complaints, they all said, "We spoke too loudly before."

Zero Run globally unveiled the B01 on the first day of the auto show, as expected, focusing on the cost-effective route. The new car launch attracted many visitors to join the fun, but Xiao Tong found that more people staying at the Zero Run booth were there with the intention of buying a car.

It can only be said that it is no surprise that Zero Run, which has relied on cost-effectiveness to stabilize its position in the top 5 of new force sales, has also made its audience more practical.

ZEEKR attracted a large number of visitors with the on-site debut of the 9X. Xiao Tong also had to wait for a long time to get in and see the real car, instantly reminded of the previous year when the Wenjie M9 made its debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show, with layers of visitors surrounding the new car to take photos and join the fun.

(Photo courtesy of Dianchetong)

Full-size SUVs will be the next mainstream competitive high ground, with many brands bringing their latest large SUV new models to join the competition. The ZEEKR 9X was dubbed the "Hangzhou Bay Cullinan" during the exposure phase, and the real car still has considerable appeal.

The scale of new car debuts at this Shanghai Auto Show seemed impressive, but when it comes to specific automakers, this number becomes quite modest. Xiao Tong found that the presence or absence of new car debuts largely determined the foot traffic at automaker booths. At this year's Shanghai Auto Show, the number of new car debuts by new force brands was indeed very limited.

But thinking from another angle, this might be good news, because so far, there have been no models on the stage, no Lei Jun visiting the exhibition for check-ins, and no car owners demanding rights protection. Everyone's focus has returned to the cars themselves.

Emerging new forces: No traffic anxiety, new cars are the cherry on top

As the emerging new forces in automotive manufacturing, Xiaomi Motors attracts crowds wherever it goes.

The recent traffic accident that caused a stir in the industry does not seem to have significantly impacted Xiaomi Motors. New car orders continue to grow, and Xiaomi Motors remains the most popular at the entire exhibition hall. Media professionals take turns to check in at the SU7 Ultra, and there is still the familiar queue outside the venue due to limited flow.

I still remember last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, where the Xiaomi Motors booth had limited flow, and the queue outside almost extended to the neighboring Dongfeng Mengshi exhibition area. There were so many visitors inside that they could barely be accommodated. Staff members said that some of them were temporarily dispatched from nearby Xiaomi Motors stores to support.

At this stage, almost no automaker can attract such a huge amount of foot traffic with a model (series) that has been on the market for more than a year.

What Xiao Tong finds a bit unfortunate is that the YU7 is confirmed to be absent from this auto show (the possibility of a sudden appearance cannot be ruled out), and Lei Jun did not arrive on the first day of the auto show, but these do not affect the vitality of the Xiaomi Motors booth. It is said that the first 5,000 visitors who checked in received a Xiaomi baseball cap. At last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, Xiaomi gave a bottle of mineral water to all visitors who queued to enter.

It's hard to say that intelligent driving accidents have had no impact on Xiaomi Motors. The entire automotive industry has slammed on the brakes of intelligent driving promotion. Today, it can still attract a large number of visitors at the auto show. Xiao Tong believes that this is inseparable from the influence of Lei Jun and the Xiaomi brand.

Near closing time, Xiao Tong visited the Xiaomi Motors booth again and found it to be emptier. At last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, there were still people queuing outside the venue until just before closing. If the YU7 and Lei Jun had both been present, it's hard to imagine what the Xiaomi Motors booth would have looked like.

(Photo courtesy of Dianchetong)

HarmonyOS Drive's popularity is on par with that of XPeng Motors, and Xiao Tong found that there were even more live streamers at the booth.

On the one hand, the Wenjie M8 is participating in a large international auto show for the first time. Although exhibition cars have been arriving at stores successively, the face is still relatively unfamiliar, thus attracting visitors to queue up for experiencing and bloggers to live stream. According to Wenjie's information, the Wenjie M8 received over 44,000 confirmed orders after its launch, and its first sales were so popular that even many entry-level compact SUVs with lower prices could only aspire to it.

On the one hand, you can buy a large SUV with everything you need and advanced intelligence for only 359,800 yuan. Even if it is sold as a "mini M9", it can generate considerable appeal, allowing more consumers to experience Wenjie's flagship model without having to "bite the bullet".

On the other hand, with the Wenjie M9 leading the way, Wenjie's high-end market recognition has been established, and sales have remained at the top of the 500,000 SUV segment. For the cheaper M8, which offers a similar experience to the M9, consumers can obviously give more confidence.

Even with new color and wheel design options, the popularity of the Wenjie M7 was not as high as expected, and the newly launched Wenjie M5 Ultra also seemed a bit neglected.

(Photo courtesy of Dianchetong)

Xiao Tong believes there is a reason for this. Since the refreshed Wenjie M5 and M7 have not had many significant upgrades so far, the market is already familiar with their existence, and new colors and wheels are difficult to generate enough traffic and topics.

Also arriving at the scene were the first model of Zunjie, the S800, and the Enjoyjie S9 range-extended version. The former is still in a state of "can be viewed from afar but not up close", while the latter, being an already launched model, did not have as much popularity as the Wenjie M8, and there were relatively fewer people watching it.

Moreover, with intelligent driving promotion being abruptly halted, there were fewer chances to create topics at the booth, with a lack of phrases like "far ahead".

(Photo courtesy of Dianchetong)

Like Xiaomi Motors, HarmonyOS Drive itself also carries traffic, with a large number of fans and a huge user base, and is highly internet-oriented, so its popularity is naturally higher than that of ordinary automakers. New cars are more of a cherry on top for these brands. Even without new car launches, passersby would surely take a look, right?

Lei Jun is absent from this auto show, but the competition for foot traffic remains fierce

The differentiation between the new forces and the emerging new forces is still evident at this Shanghai International Auto Show.

The primary distinction lies in their approach to drawing in traffic. New automotive players rely on introducing new cars, while the emerging forces focus on leveraging internet traffic. Fundamentally, neither approach is inherently superior; both aim to generate momentum and attract visitors, albeit through different avenues and characteristics. Furthermore, with joint venture automakers also unveiling noteworthy new vehicles, diverting audience attention, the competition for traffic among these new and emerging forces may appear even more intense.

Indeed, in the new era of automotive manufacturing, traffic acquisition has become paramount. Even if you produce a great car, sufficient communication capabilities are essential to inform ordinary consumers about it. This explains the mixed feelings among automakers towards the high popularity brought by Xiaomi and HarmonyOS Drive.

Compared to previous auto shows, there has been significantly less hype unrelated to new car launches. So far, Xiao Tong has not observed any eye-catching events like Lei Jun's check-ins or car owners demanding rights protection. The auto show remains crowded but more harmonious. If there's any regret, it's that not all desired new cars are present.

Of course, it's also plausible that people are more inclined to visit the cars simply because prominent internet celebrities like Lei Jun are absent.

The 2025 Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (Shanghai Auto Show), running from April 23 to May 2, with the theme "Embracing Innovation, Winning the Future," marks a pivotal point in the automotive industry's second half. Leading brands such as BYD, HarmonyOS Drive, XPeng, Xiaomi, Deep Blue, and Lunatus will all make appearances. In addition to the密集 debut of new models, the popularization of intelligent technology, breakthroughs in ultra-fast charging technology, enhancements in intelligent driving safety, and improvements in cabin comfort will all be significant attractions. Dianchetong, an account under Leitech that "focuses on electric vehicles and understands intelligence better," will send a reporting team to Shanghai for on-site, professional coverage. Stay tuned.

Source: Leitech