Beijing Motor Show 2026: Chinese car manufacturers made the leap

Makers capable of producing more than 400,000 vehicles have doubled (from 4 to 8), but they remain players with volumes too low to be sustainable.

'The Chinese automotive,' says Dario Duse, automotive manager and head of the consultancy in Italia, 'is no longer growing in volume and is transforming itself: in rapid sequence it is developing, maturing and commoditising technology that is mostly offered as an increase in content against decreasing prices.

Looking at the new models on display in Beijing, one can see how muchthe distance has increased between Western and Chinese manufacturers who conceive the car product from an upgradable and adaptable software platform, to be 'run' on a hardware, the 'vehicle'.

And here the watchword is Sdv - Software Defined Vehicle, a technological approach on which Chinese bigwigs invest more than 50 per cent of their R&D budgets.

According to AlixPartners almost all Chinese manufacturers (80 per cent) use virtualisation and digital twins versus 50 per cent of Europeans. In addition, 40 per cent operate on their own and have decoupled software development from hardware development, enabling them to design cars efficiently, quickly and at low cost.

For Chinese manufacturers in overcapacity, it is imperative to break into European markets and here is one of the big news of the show: Great Wall Motor (Gwm) returns to Europe and does so with a product and branding strategy designed to challenge Byd and Chery. as well as the traditional manufacturers.

The main generalist brand is now just Gwm, the sub-brand Haval disappears as a stand-alone brand, and focuses on the volume model market, in particular with the Ora 5 full hybrid, thermal or electric, and with the Gwm H7 mid-size hybrid SUV and the Jolion Max crossover.

The premium area is instead manned with Wey (named after the group's founder) and with Tank, literally tank, which offers a range of luxury off-roaders such as the 300 model and the new 700 that aims to compete with such holy monsters as the Mercedes G-Class.

The roadmap for Europe foresees, explains Parker Shi, President of Gwm International, the arrival of Ora 5 in June, followed in the autumn by H7 and Jolion Max. At the end of the year, on the other hand, the premium hybrid off-road Tank 300 could be launched.

The strategy is broader and aims at local assembly: 'We want,' explains Mu Feng, CEO of the Baoding giant, 'to build cars in Europe and we have chosen Romania in addition to the facility in Bulgaria.

From China to Europe:Stellantis has strengthened ties withLeapmotor by confirming that an Opel model with EV technology from the Chinese brand will be produced in Zaragoza.

Leapmotor in Beijing unveiled the A10 SUV (in Europe B03X) that challenges Byd Atto 2 and Kia EV2.