One of the 2026 Beijing Auto Show series: Ten cars with a strong sense of gunpowder in the four-way confrontation

On the eve of the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, major automakers have gone to great lengths to attract visitors to their booths.

Lei Jun, the boss of Xiaomi Auto, took the lead himself. He drove from Beijing to Shanghai for a thousand - kilometer range test and live - streamed continuously for 15 hours. BMW China posted a video subtly mocking a competitor for "claiming to have run millions of kilometers before the car was even built", and sharp - eyed netizens pointed out that the competitor was Xiaomi Auto.

Li Bin of NIO said when introducing the space and comfort of the NIO ES9, "Forget about MPVs." Buick was the first to disagree and invited Li Bin to its new car launch event, saying, "Come and take a seat in person."

Nissan NX8 launched its "more ideal SUV for the whole family" in a short time, starting at 149,900 yuan, catching the just - emerging Li Auto i6 off guard. Facing the "aggressive move" of the competitor, Li Xiang couldn't bear it anymore and directly lashed out, publishing a long post accusing a certain Japanese brand. This incident even caught the attention of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In the "9" series car segment where the competition is fierce, the Leapmotor D19, with a starting price of 219,800 yuan, competes with the new - generation AITO M9 in the 500,000 - yuan class and the new Li L9 Livis. It even wants to compete with SAIC's IM LS8 to see who is the "price slasher".

Amid the hustle and bustle, the most impressive are the four groups of head - on confrontations and the ten models behind them, including the new - generation Xiaomi SU7, the new - generation BMW i3 long - wheelbase version, the NIO ES9, and the new Buick Century.

Although the competition is intense, it cannot be denied that these ten cars are all high - profile models at this year's Beijing Auto Show. It is worth for us consumers to take a serious look while having fun – maybe your dream car is among them.

Xiaomi's New - Generation SU7 and the New - Generation BMW i3: A Remote Confrontation

As of now, more than five years have passed since Xiaomi officially announced its entry into the automotive industry, and more than two years have passed since Xiaomi's first car was launched.

During this period, Lei Jun has always been labeled as a "marketing master". Although he believes that this is the competitors "smearing" him, years of experience in the business world have also taught him that even good wine needs to be well - promoted.

So, at 6:30 a.m. on April 17th, one month after the launch of the new - generation SU7, when many people were still in their dreams, Lei Jun had already taken the passenger seat of the new - generation SU7 Pro. He said "Let's go" to the live - stream camera and started a 15 - hour range test live - stream from Beijing to Shanghai.

This live - stream, which he called "extremely abnormal and crazy", finally achieved an actual mileage of 1,313 kilometers. Starting with a full charge, it only needed to be charged once on the way, and there was still 19 kilometers of range left when it reached Shanghai. Data shows that this vehicle with a CLTC - rated range of 902 kilometers has an average power consumption of only 14.6 kWh per 100 kilometers.

Picture/Source of the Beijing - Shanghai range live - stream of the new - generation SU7 Pro/ Screenshot from the Internet and New Energy Outlook

In fact, the market performance of the new - generation SU7 has already given an answer. According to public information, in March 2026, the total delivery volume of Xiaomi's entire vehicle lineup exceeded 20,000 units. Among them, the new - generation SU7 had a cumulative delivery of more than 7,000 units within 9 days after the start of delivery, with an average daily delivery of nearly 800 units. This speed has put pressure on many traditional automakers.

Picture/Delivery situation of Xiaomi in March 2026/ Screenshot from the Internet and New Energy Outlook

Facing the strong performance of the Xiaomi SU7 in the 300,000 - yuan price range, BMW obviously doesn't want to sit idly by. On March 18th, BMW globally premiered the new - generation i3 based on the "Neue Klasse" pure - electric platform in Munich. This time, BMW has completely bid farewell to the embarrassing label of "converting gasoline cars to electric cars".

Picture/The new BMW i3/ Screenshot from the Internet and New Energy Outlook

Judging from the data, the new i3 is well - prepared. It is equipped with an 800V high - voltage platform. The first - launched model has a maximum range of up to 900 kilometers under the WLTP working condition and can replenish 400 kilometers of range in just 10 minutes. More notably, BMW has also specially developed a long - wheelbase version of the new - generation i3 for the Chinese market, which will be unveiled at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show alongside the new - generation iX3 long - wheelbase version.

However, the competition situation is not easy for BMW. Some media have estimated that the price of the new BMW i3 is expected to be over 350,000 yuan, while the top - end version of the Xiaomi SU7 is only 303,900 yuan. BMW has no advantage in terms of price. But as BMW said in the video, its advantage lies in millions of kilometers of rigorous testing and the comprehensive accumulation of handling, power, and reliability.

On one hand, Lei Jun has built a "transparent and trustworthy" persona through a series of live - streams. On the other hand, BMW has built a technological barrier with its new - generation platform and luxury heritage. This remote confrontation between the new force and the century - old luxury brand actually reflects a deeper question: In the electric era, who has the right to define luxury? At the Beijing Auto Show, the two cars will have their first head - on confrontation, and the answer may start to emerge.

NIO ES9 and Buick Century: An Elegant Mutual Promotion?

If the confrontation between Xiaomi and BMW is a high - profile remote exchange of fire, then the dialogue between the NIO ES9 and the Buick Century is more like an unobtrusive "elegant mutual promotion".

On April 9th, NIO launched its full - size flagship SUV, the NIO ES9, in Hangzhou. Interestingly, Li Bin changed his usual casual image and put on a business suit. Standing on the stage, he positioned this car as the "pioneer of the intelligent electric executive flagship SUV category".

Picture/The NIO ES9/ Screenshot from the Internet and New Energy Outlook

In terms of intelligence, the ES9 is equipped with the world's first 5nm automotive - grade intelligent driving chip, Shenji NX9031. It is combined with the AI - native digital architecture and the AI - oriented full - domain operating system SkyOS·Tianshu. It also supports 5C ultra - fast charging and 3 - minute battery swapping, truly maximizing its product strength.

The pre - sale price of the NIO ES9 starts at 528,000 yuan. With the BaaS battery rental plan, it can be purchased for 420,000 yuan.

In terms of size, the ES9 has a vehicle length of 5,365 millimeters and a wheelbase of 3,250 millimeters. At the press conference, Li Bin even presented a comparison table with mainstream MPVs. The ES9 ranked first in six out of seven space - related aspects. He then shouted the resounding slogan: "It can easily accommodate 6 people and 13 suitcases. Every seat is a top - notch seat. Forget about MPVs."

The media on - site all laughed. Is NIO really going to revolutionize the MPV market? The high - profile launch of the NIO ES9 quickly became a hot topic in the high - end travel field.

Buick took advantage of the situation skillfully. First, it provoked a dispute on its official platform, challenging Li Bin to come and take a seat and then "forget" again. Then, two days later, on April 17th, Buick quickly launched the upgraded Century CENTURY model. It features a "Guan Shan Flying Snow" two - tone body, a new scale - pattern grille, and exclusive large - diameter wheels, using the language of Eastern aesthetic design to strengthen its positioning as a super - luxury flagship MPV.

Picture/The Buick Century CENTURY/ Screenshot from the Internet and New Energy Outlook

If you sit in the rear row of the four - seat version of the Buick Century, you will find that Buick really understands the concept of "ritual sense". Under the industry - first one - key concierge mode, the second - row seats will move forward synchronously to the best boarding position when the sliding door opens and closes. The whole process is smooth and elegant, as if there is an invisible butler serving you.

Previously, since its launch in December 2025, the Buick Zhijing Shijia has consistently ranked first in the sales of luxury MPVs priced over 400,000 yuan. Together with the Buick Century, they have captured more than 50% of the market share in this segment.

This solid market base is not easy to shake.

NIO wants to "revolutionize the MPV market", and Buick responds calmly with iterative upgrades. This seemingly "trend - chasing" but actually mutually - complementary dialogue reflects the re - division of the right to speak in the high - end family and business travel market between the two brands.

One challenges traditional concepts with a pure - electric and battery - swapping system, while the other defends its territory with luxury heritage and user experience. Which one can attract more consumers' attention at the Beijing Auto Show? It may not only be a competition of product strength but also a collision of two travel concepts.

Li Auto i6 and Dongfeng Nissan NX8: A Public Feud

If the previous two groups of confrontations still had some restraint in the form of "shouting", then the confrontation between the Li Auto i6 and the Dongfeng Nissan NX8 has spread to the public opinion field and has even been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

At a critical moment in Li Auto's transformation, the Li Auto i6 is a product that Li Auto cannot afford to lose. This pure - electric mid - to large - size SUV with a starting price of 249,800 yuan uses an 87.3 kWh lithium iron phosphate 5C ultra - fast charging battery to achieve a CLTC range of 720 kilometers and can replenish 500 kilometers of range in 10 minutes.

Picture/Partial parameter configuration of the Li Auto i6/ Screenshot from the Internet and New Energy Outlook

In terms of the chassis, the all - aluminum suspension is combined with double - chamber air springs and CDC continuously variable damping shock absorbers. The torsional stiffness of the vehicle body reaches 52,014 Nm/deg – this data has exceeded that of many million - yuan luxury cars.

The market feedback is also straightforward: Less than seven months after its launch, the 100,000th mass - produced vehicle rolled off the production line on April 10th this year. Li Auto's right to speak in the family travel market on the extended - range route is strongly extending to the pure - electric market through the i6.

However, the awakening of joint - venture brands came faster than expected.

On April 8th, the Dongfeng Nissan NX8 was officially launched. The limited - time promotional price for both the pure - electric and extended - range versions starts at 149,900 yuan. As soon as this price was announced, many industry insiders were shocked. This has almost lowered the threshold to the level of compact SUVs.

Picture/The Dongfeng Nissan NX8/ Screenshot from the Internet and New Energy Outlook

The Nissan NX8 is the first model based on the Tianyan Architecture 2.0. In terms of intelligent driving, it is jointly developed with Momenta and is equipped with a lidar. It supports high - speed NOA, urban NOA, and full - scenario parking, breaking the stereotype that joint - venture cars are "backward in intelligent driving".

In terms of comfort configurations, the NX8 also spares no effort. It is equipped with an AI zero - pressure cloud blanket seat for the driver, an AI zero - gravity cloud blanket seat for the front passenger, a 25 - speaker audio system, and a double - door AI intelligent cooling and heating refrigerator. The so - called "AI comfort five - piece set" almost fully matches the "refrigerator, color TV, and big sofa" of new - force brands.

Some people joked that joint - venture brands have finally learned to "use the strengths of others to control them".

On one hand, Li Auto has proven the market potential of pure - electric family SUVs with its sales volume. On the other hand, Dongfeng Nissan has