None of the foreign luxury brands showed up. The price war among domestic car brands has kicked off at the auto show. After walking 30,000 steps, here are six truths about the Chengdu Auto Show.

During the Chengdu Auto Show in the rain, not only did the weather cool down, but the heat of the auto show also "shifted gears".

CheDongXi reported from the scene of the Chengdu Auto Show on August 29th. Today is the first day of the 2025 Chengdu International Auto Show and also the media day. Different from the sweltering 40-degree weather in previous Chengdu Auto Shows, this year's Chengdu Auto Show opened in light rain, with a maximum temperature of only 23 degrees, making the physical feeling much more comfortable.

However, the cooling trend was not only reflected in the weather. The popularity of this Chengdu Auto Show also decreased. Although the exhibition area of this auto show reached 220,000 square meters, bringing together nearly 120 automobile brands and displaying over 1,600 vehicles, many automakers did not concentrate their press conferences during the auto show. Instead, they chose periods before and after the auto show when the traffic was less likely to be diluted.

▲ The scene of the Chengdu Auto Show

Therefore, this auto show presented obvious "polarization" characteristics: On the one hand, ultra-luxury brands collectively absented, and traditional joint-venture brands accelerated their electrification transformation. On the other hand, domestic brands rose strongly, demonstrating their technological innovation and market competitiveness in the form of "special pavilions".

With the new energy vehicle penetration rate exceeding 50% currently, intelligent configurations are being widely adopted, the competition in niche markets has become fierce, and China's leading position in key areas such as intelligent cabins and intelligent driving in the supply chain is gradually taking shape.

These changes not only reshape the domestic automobile market landscape but also indicate new positions and opportunities for the Chinese automobile industry in global competition.

During this Chengdu Auto Show, the CheDongXi team walked over 30,000 steps a day and summarized six major trends for you:

1. New cars are launched before the auto show, and the auto show becomes a sales battlefield;

2. The "Five Realms" of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility gather for the first time, and Huawei's solutions penetrate automakers;

3. BYD and Chery showcase in exclusive pavilions, competing in both price and upper limits of capabilities;

4. Chinese brands impact the high - end market, and many luxury brands are absent;

5. Electric vehicles take the center stage at joint - venture automakers' booths, showing an obvious electrification transformation;

6. Overseas automakers are increasingly adopting Chinese intelligent driving solutions, and VLA is gradually entering mass production.

01. New cars from new forces are launched before the auto show, and the auto show becomes a sales battlefield

At the 2025 Chengdu Auto Show, many automakers chose to hold press conferences and launch new cars before the auto show. New forces such as NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng also followed suit, launching their cars before the auto show and focusing on sales during the auto show.

▲ The all-new ES8

NIO showcased the all-new ES8 model in Hall 4. This full-size SUV has dimensions of 5280/2010/1800mm and a wheelbase of 3130mm, targeting the high-end family user market.

Its biggest highlight is the adoption of a 900V all-domain high-voltage architecture, standard with a 102kWh battery, and a CLTC range of 635km. With 900V ultra-fast charging technology, it can replenish 300km of range in 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, NIO integrated the LeDao and YingHuoChong sub-brands to reduce costs through resource sharing. The LeDao L90 also launched a 7-seater version to further penetrate the niche market.

▲ The interior of the 7-seater LeDao L90

XPeng Motors mainly showcased the all-new XPeng P7 in Hall 11. As an important update to its core product line, it is equipped with various new technologies.

▲ The all-new XPeng P7

All versions of the all-new XPeng P7 are Ultra versions, without lidar, and can support its VLA intelligent driving model in the future.

▲ The Li Auto booth

In contrast, the Li Auto i8 was launched earlier and has been in delivery for over a week. Therefore, Li Auto's booth mainly features its full range of models.

The Li Auto i8, Li Auto MEGA, and L9/L8/L7/L6 form a complete product matrix, targeting the needs of different family users.

02. The "Five Realms" of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility gather for the first time, and Huawei's influence spreads comprehensively

HarmonyOS Smart Mobility gathered the "Five Realms" brands - AITO, Zhijie, Xiangjie, Zunjie, and Shangjie - in Hall 3 for the first time, demonstrating its comprehensive layout in the intelligent vehicle field.

▲ The gathering of the "Five Realms" of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility

This "Five Realms" strategy marks Huawei's transformation from a single smart-selected vehicle model to a diversified ecological cooperation model, meeting the needs of different consumer groups through brand cooperation at different levels.

In the smart-selected vehicle field, models such as the AITO M8 pure-electric version, the new M7, the all-new Zhijie R7, S7, and the Shangjie H5 were collectively showcased.

▲ The Shangjie H5

Among them, the Shangjie H5 received over 50,000 small orders within 18 hours after opening for pre-orders, showing strong market appeal.

▲ The AITO M8 pure-electric version

The AITO M8 pure-electric version was also launched before the auto show, mainly for sales, and the on-site traffic was extremely high.

▲ The all-new AITO M7

The all-new AITO M7 will be launched in September and is currently on display at the Chengdu Auto Show.

▲ The Zhijie S7 with the new Zhijie logo

On the Zhijie side, the all-new Zhijie S7 and R7 were both showcased and adopted the new Zhijie logo.

▲ The new logo is also used on the steering wheel in the interior of the Zhijie S7

On the Xiangjie side, the Xiangjie S9T station wagon version was a major highlight. The trunk door is significantly different from the sedan version, and a roof box was added to the roof for display.

The car is currently on public display at the Chengdu Auto Show and will be launched on September 16th.

▲ The Xiangjie S9T

On the Zunjie side, there is still only the S800 model, which started delivery some time ago and also supports all new functions of ADS4.

In addition to smart-selected vehicles, models using Huawei's full-stack technology were also showcased. New models were comprehensively upgraded to HUAWEI ADS4, adding functions such as Spotlight warning, driver disability assistance, forward collision prevention in dusty environments, and motion sickness relief 2.0, further strengthening their intelligent driving advantages.

▲ Function comparison of different versions of Huawei ADS4 (Source: Huawei Intelligent Automotive Solution BU)

It is worth mentioning that the Huawei ADS4 system was displayed at multiple booths. The system is based on the WEWA (World Engine & World Action Model) architecture.

The active safety capabilities of ADS4 have entered the "Five-dimensional Full-scenario" era, that is, full-speed, all-direction, all-target, all-weather, and full-scenario protection.

▲ ADS 4 is equipped with the new WEWA technical architecture

Huawei Intelligent Automotive Solution BU plans to have 1.5 million vehicles equipped with Huawei's Qiankun Intelligent Driving system in 2025, with an incremental installation target of 1 million units, showing its ambition in the intelligent driving field.

▲ The Avatr 06

Specifically, the new Avatr 06 model will be among the first to be equipped with Huawei's Qiankun Intelligent Driving