SHANGHAI (AP) — Automakers from China and other countries plan to unveil more than a dozen electric SUVs, sedans and high-powered cars this week at the Shanghai auto show, their first large-scale sales event in four years in a market that has become a workshop for the development of electric vehicles, autonomous driving and other technologies.
Automakers are racing to launch faster, more luxurious and feature-packed electric vehicles in the tech sector’s biggest and most crowded market. The ruling Communist Party has invested billions of dollars in subsidies to get an early advantage in an emerging industry. Established global brands face intense competition from Chinese rivals.
For the first time since 2019, executives will travel from the United States, Europe and Japan to attend the world’s largest auto show after anti-virus restrictions that blocked most travel to China were lifted in December. Auto shows at the industry’s biggest market were held during the coronavirus pandemic, but on a smaller scale. Global brands were represented by employees from their China operations.
Drivers in the world’s top auto market bought 5.4 million all-electric vehicles last year, or about two-thirds of the global total of eight million, plus 1.5 million gasoline-electric hybrids. That was more than a quarter of total car sales of 23.6 million. EV sales this year are forecast to rise another 30%.
“Consumers lost interest in gasoline cars. That is the biggest challenge for foreign brands to compete in China,” said industry analyst John Zeng of LMC Automotive. “They will have to show their best EV products.”
Beijing is reducing government support and putting the burden on automakers by requiring them to get credits for electric vehicle sales. Manufacturers are pouring billions of dollars into developing models that can compete on price and features without subsidies. Many are forming partnerships to share the rising costs.
Auto Shanghai 2023 fills the cavernous Shanghai Expo Center, a subcontinent of 1.5 million square meters (16 million square feet) of a building that is among the largest in the world.
Volkswagen AG, the best-selling brand in the country, announced that it plans to exhibit 28 models, half of them electric. VW says it will introduce its ID.7 limousine, which promises a range of 700 kilometers (435 miles) on a single charge.
China’s BYD Auto, which is competing with Tesla Inc. for the title of the world’s best-selling electric carmaker, said it will display its luxury brand Yangwang’s U9 supercar for the first time. The automaker claims the U9, with a sticker price of one million yuan ($145,000), can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h (60 mph) in two seconds.
Car sales in China peaked in 2017 at 24.7 million but collapsed in 2020 to 20.2 million after dealerships closed as part of efforts to contain COVID-19. They are recovering, but are not yet back to pre-pandemic level.
