Chengdu Remains Undimmed: BYD and Geely Vie for the Championship, While the Weaker Players Have Made Their Exit
At 9 a.m. on August 21, at the entrance of Hall 1, Western China International Expo City in Chengdu.
The security guard shouted at the top of his voice "Move inside, don't block the entrance", but the flow of people was far from forming a congestion.
The sales consultant opposite was scrolling through his phone, looked up for a glance and then lowered his head again — the number of customers entering the store in the whole morning was less than what he received in a single day last week.
Data does not lie. From January to July 2026, both China's automobile production and sales decreased by 3.7% year-on-year, even with the surging export volume included. If only the domestic retail sales of passenger vehicles are counted, the year-on-year decline for consecutive months will exceed 20%.
More than 20 brands are absent from this auto show. Dongfeng Nissan did not participate for the first time, and Chevrolet, Yueda Kia, Rolls-Royce and Bentley all did not set up exhibition booths. In the 220,000-square-meter exhibition area of the Western China International Expo City, there is more vacant space than in previous years.
However, the deserted atmosphere does not mean silence. The absent parties have their own reasons, and the remaining participants have their own highlights.
This is an auto show that seeks order amid industrial reshuffling. The weak exit the market, the strong narrow their battle lines, and the surviving players begin to compete on technology and value. When the tide of cutthroat competition recedes, it is immediately clear who is swimming naked and who is building a solid vessel.
The battle for top two positions: full-hall exclusive booking vs. decentralized booth layout
BYD and Geely have staged the most interesting showdown at this auto show.
Hall 9 is fully booked by BYD. Its five brands, Dynasty, Ocean, Denza, Fangchengbao and Yangwang, all have their own independent large booths. That is not all — BYD has also set up exclusive technology zones specifically for its "Flash Charge" and "God's Eye" intelligent driving technologies. It is almost unprecedented in the history of Chengdu Auto Show for an automaker to allocate separate spaces for two technologies in its fully booked exhibition hall.
"It feels like this has become BYD's home court," Zhong Lin, chief editor of Gasgoo, sighed at the scene.
The outer area is even more spectacular. Long queues formed in front of the floating water test pool of Yangwang U8, and the 45-degree slope climbing test area was surrounded by layers of onlookers. A 45-degree slope means a 100% gradient, and Yangwang U8 not only climbs up forward, but also reverses its direction to drive up and down the slope backward.
The moment the water splashes, the flashes of mobile phones are denser than the splashes. Not all the onlookers will buy a Yangwang vehicle, but they will all remember BYD.
Geely next door has taken a different path — "break the whole into parts, each showcasing its own unique features".
In Hall 11, Zeekr has arranged a huge display lineup.
The 9X and 8X focus on the high-end market, sending a message to neighboring SAIC IM and Changan Deepal that "I can also do well in the high-end segment"; the 7X and the 001 5th Anniversary Edition send a signal to nearby Xpeng and MG that "I can also win over young consumers".
In Hall 14, Volvo is surrounded by BMW, Cadillac and Land Rover, still presenting its calm Nordic style. Geely Galaxy has exhibited the Galaxy TT C-class pure electric sports sedan and the Galaxy Battleship 700 AI all-terrain hardcore SUV in one go, with two concept cars of Peugeot Citroen, "Lumina" and "Rafale", diagonally opposite. The transformation of veteran fuel vehicle brands to new energy vehicles is clearly visible here.
In Hall 15, Lynk & Co and Smart are both showcasing their high-end texture, while FAW Audi is just next door, and JAC has also elevated its brand image with its Zunjie series.
BYD adopts the "full-hall exclusive booking" strategy to launch an all-round offensive; Geely takes the "decentralized multi-point layout" approach to blossom in multiple segments.
The market feedback is also equally tight. In the first half of the year, Geely Auto ranked first in Chengdu's auto market with 21,800 units sold, followed closely by BYD with 21,400 units.
But in July, BYD reclaimed the monthly brand championship with 3,548 units. According to the group caliber, BYD's four major brands sold a total of 5,020 units in Chengdu in July, while the Geely system (Geely, Galaxy, Lynk & Co, Zeekr, Volvo, Smart, Ruilan, Lotus) sold a total of 4,978 units — the gap is less than 50 units.
One is the full-control "full-hall exclusive booking" strategy, the other is the elite-advancing "decentralized layout" strategy. The championship competition in Chengdu has entered a white-hot stage measured by weekly sales.
Southwest China: The gene of "playfulness"
The article "Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai: The Luxury City Perspectives" from Qin Shuo's WeChat public account once defined Chengdu as a "city of showing off".
"The lifestyle of Chengdu people is so diverse and three-dimensional... They have an open attitude towards pleasure and self-expression, which makes them very decisive when shopping, attaching importance to decoration and self-expression, with a romantic aesthetic preference."
I think the definition of "playfulness" or "love for trying new things" is more down-to-earth. After all, this is a city that once accounted for 8% of the total sales of Volkswagen Phaeton, and was one of the first cities in China to widely embrace Tesla.
At this auto show, hardcore off-road vehicles and square box-shaped vehicles are everywhere, while sports cars and GT/station wagons are extremely popular, all responding to this "playful" gene.
Hall 1 best illustrates this point.
"What do you think are the most important models in Hall 1?" I did a small survey with my friend.
"The Great Wall H10 makes its debut, followed by the Wey brand V8X, GAC's Yue 7 is eyeing the market, FAW's Yueyi 08 holds its regional launch event and specially brings the convertible version. The new Tank 300 is also placed in the corner, with its tough lines impossible to hide." The answer is even written in a literary tone.
The key point is, if you count carefully, three fifths of the important new cars in Hall 1 are off-road vehicles.
Off-roading and convertibles are essentially all about "play".
Chengdu people are not unable to afford sedans, they are just extremely good at having fun. A regional salesperson at the Great Wall booth told me that the sales of Tank 300 in the southwest region are always among the top three in the country, "Customers here really drive into the mountains on weekends, not just for posing for photos."
Hongqi is not willing to show weakness this time either. The new HS5, Tiangong 07, plus the G919 off-road vehicle — Hongqi's entry into the off-road segment is itself a major highlight of this auto show, which perfectly aligns with the industry trend of "off-road craze".
In Hall 2, BAIC Off-road brings the Star Tantalum 5X, a mid-large size off-road vehicle. Next to it is the Tantalum 700, a large off-road vehicle with a key additional configuration — Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving. Three years ago, no one dared to imagine that high-level intelligent driving would be installed on off-road vehicles. But now, hardcore performance and intelligence are no longer contradictory.
The Fangchengbao booth in Hall 9 displays 15 vehicles, 7 of which are Fangchengbao S. The gathering of sports cars in Chengdu speaks for itself. Some people may wonder, Fangchengbao initially focused on hardcore off-road vehicles, why did it launch sports cars now?
In fact, the positioning of Fangchengbao at the time of its brand launch was a "personalized brand", and its product line originally included both off-road vehicles and sports cars. However, among consumers, the "leopard" label is too tightly bound to hardcore off-road, so the sudden launch of a low-slung sports car now requires time for the public to adjust their perception.
It is worth adding that the Fangchengbao S also comes with a GT version.
Chengdu has given the greatest tolerance to this kind of "mix and match". The consumption logic of this city is never "what car do I need", but "what car do I want to drive". Off-road vehicles, convertibles, station wagons, travel vehicles — the more personalized, the more popular. The auto show is a concentrated projection of the city's genes, and what Chengdu projects is the desire for "play".
No matter how much the auto show is predicted to decline and cool down, it can always find its own meaning. A large number of off-road vehicles, plenty of station wagons and hunting cars, and convertibles that dare to be displayed in public — this is the answer of the southwest market.
Two Huawei entities: The dominant narrative of suppliers
Half of Hall 3 is occupied by Huawei Harmony Intelligent Mobility.
A huge sky dome sphere hangs at the main entrance of the booth, playing a looped video showing the names and logos of the five brands spreading out in a "scattering flowers from the sky" effect. The sky dome sphere is not a new gadget, Toyota already used it at the China International Import Expo long ago. But Harmony Intelligent Mobility has equipped it with dynamic streaming media visuals, instantly filling the space with a strong sense of technology.
All the "Five Realms" brands are present — AITO, Luxeed, Xiangjie, Zunjie and Shangjie. Xiangjie and Shangjie are at the two ends, Zunjie and Luxeed are in the middle, and AITO is scattered among them. Each "Jie" brand has its own booth, except AITO — which does not have a main booth, only one M9 Ultimate parked in the corner.
But this car does not need a booth to support its prestige.
At the booth, the salesperson of Harmony Intelligent Mobility introduces every detail familiarly: "After selecting all the exterior and interior configurations, the total price is about 740,000 yuan. The battery is also upgraded, and other upgraded parts include the seats and an oxygen generator." And the people surrounding the car to inquire about the price never stop coming.
The biggest new car highlight of Harmony Intelligent Mobility at this auto show, which can even be called one of the most important new cars of the entire show, is the Xiangjie G9 luxury off-road SUV.
This car is exhibited at both the BAIC booth in Hall 1 and the Harmony booth in Hall 3, but the presentation effect at the latter is far better than that at the BAIC booth in Hall 2 — behind the two display cars are rockery and waterfall landscapes, and one car has its rooftop tent raised for display. A peer joked that BAIC's booth looks like a 4S store,