2026 Chengdu Auto Show Preview: Fierce Competition Among New EV Startups and Top 5 Chinese Domestic Automakers, Joint Ventures Accelerate Localization Transformation
On August 21, the first Class A auto show in the second half of the year — Chengdu Auto Show is about to kick off.
As the first Class A auto show in the second half of this year, Chengdu Auto Show falls exactly in the golden window period of the "Golden September and Silver October" in the auto market. It is not only the main battlefield for car companies to launch new vehicles intensively, but also a core vane to observe the trend of the auto market in the second half of the year.
What heavyweight new cars will this auto show bring? What new signals will the industry release? Today, Dianchetong (ID: dianchetong233) will sort out the core highlights of the 2026 Chengdu Auto Show for you in advance in one article.
(Source: Chengdu Auto Show)
Smart electric vehicles become the main protagonists of the auto show, high-level intelligent driving becomes a key selling point for independent brands
According to the data disclosed by the Chengdu Auto Show official, this year's Chengdu Auto Show covers an exhibition area of 220,000 square meters, gathering nearly 120 mainstream domestic and foreign automotive brands, with about 1,600 complete vehicles on display.
Judging from the exhibition information released by the auto show official and participating brands so far, the type of vehicles exhibited at this year's auto show is still dominated by new energy vehicles, and the status of fuel vehicles in the entire auto show is further marginalized.
But different from last year's Chengdu Auto Show, with the continuous popularization of high-level intelligent assisted driving technology, many traditional brands and joint-venture brands have also launched models equipped with high-level assisted driving this year.
Affected by this trend, the number and proportion of models equipped with high-level intelligent assisted driving at this year's Chengdu Auto Show will also increase significantly. It is expected that some independent brands and joint-venture brands will display high-level assisted driving as an important selling point.
Among new power brands, Xiaomi Pengcheng N90Max and N70Max will make their debut at Chengdu Auto Show, of which N90 Max has been exhibited in some stores before, and N70 Max is making its first public appearance. Xpeng G9L will also have its auto show debut.
(Source: Xiaomi Auto)
In terms of traditional independent brands, BYD Group has booked the entire Hall 9, and many new cars will make their first show or full appearance. The new Han of the Dynasty series and the third-generation Tang officially debut; the Haisi 08 will officially announce its interior; the Fangchengbao Titanium 9 / Shark pickup truck will make its first show, and the Fangcheng S series will make its full debut; the Denza Z hardtop version will make its domestic first show. It can be said that Hall 9 booked by BYD Group will be the most interesting exhibition hall.
(Source: BYD)
Another brand that has booked the entire exhibition hall is Chery, located in Hall 5, which also has many new cars on display. For example, the world-premiered Exeed EX6, as well as the first-appearing QQ3 retro version, Fengyun A9L sport version, JETOUR Wanderer and other models.
In addition, Great Wall's ORA brand will premiere the ORA 7, Geely Galaxy will debut two models, the Galaxy Battleship 700 and Galaxy TT, Changan will premiere the Deepal S05, GAC will also debut models such as the Trumpchi Yue 7 and Aion Ray7...
It is worth mentioning that this time, brands adopting Huawei Qiankun's solution including Yijing, Qijing, Huijing, as well as Avatr, Dongfeng MHERO and other brands all have independent booths, instead of adopting the form of a separate Huawei Qiankun booth combined with some separate brand booths as in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Auto Show in the first half of the year.
It can be seen that a large number of independent brands will choose to debut new cars at this key node of the Chengdu Auto Show, and many brands have also started pre-sales or launch activities of new cars on the eve of the Chengdu Auto Show.
Dianchetong (ID: dianchetong233) speculates that some new cars that debut at the Chengdu Auto Show may be pre-sold or launched around the Guangzhou Auto Show a few months later, and the Guangzhou Auto Show will then become another important new car communication node.
Joint-venture brands accelerate localized transformation, many joint-venture brands showcase new cars with "Chinese characteristics"
If the main theme of joint-venture brands at domestic auto shows in previous years was electrification transformation to prove that "I can also make new energy vehicles", the recent main theme of joint-venture brands at domestic auto shows is localized transformation, and joint-venture car companies have begun to prove one after another that "I can make new energy vehicles that meet the needs of Chinese users".
This trend actually started when Changan Mazda launched models such as EZ-6 and EZ-60, and then followed by brands such as Toyota, Nissan, and SAIC Audi. At this year's Chengdu Auto Show, many joint-venture brand booths will exhibit new energy vehicles developed by Chinese teams based on localized needs.
Among them, the most notable one is Volkswagen. SAIC Volkswagen will premiere two models, the extended-range flagship SUV ID.ERA 8X and the compact pure electric SUV ID.ERA 5X. At the same time, the plug-in hybrid sedan ID.ERA 5S will also be officially launched at the Chengdu Auto Show. The Jetta brand under FAW-Volkswagen will also debut its first pure electric sedan Jetta M6.
(Source: Jetta)
It can be seen that as one of the well-known joint-venture brands in the fuel vehicle era, the Volkswagen brand is now fully prepared to build new energy vehicles that meet the needs of the Chinese market.
The Buick brand brings the newly launched Electra L7 pure electric version to the Chengdu Auto Show. At present, SAIC General Motors has also launched the "Electra Mode" to build new energy vehicles that meet the needs of the Chinese market. The previously launched Electra E7 also has good sales performance, and even its signature MPV model has launched new energy models such as GL8 PHEV and Electra Family.
Cadillac, which also belongs to SAIC General Motors, will start pre-sales of the XT5 PHEV at the Chengdu Auto Show. This model is Cadillac's first plug-in hybrid model in China, and it will also be equipped with lidar and Momenta R7 world model high-level assisted driving to better compete with other domestic new energy luxury SUVs.
The Mazda mentioned earlier will also bring the EZ-60 laser version to this Chengdu Auto Show and start pre-sales.
Of course, there are still joint-venture brands that launch global models in China. For example, BMW will start pre-sales of the new generation iX3 built on the new generation architecture at this Chengdu Auto Show, and Beijing Hyundai will also start pre-sales of the Ioniq V built on the global pure electric platform.
However, it is regrettable that Dongfeng Nissan, which has always advertised itself as a "new power among joint ventures", has unexpectedly missed this Chengdu Auto Show. It should be noted that Dongfeng Nissan is a brand that has built three new energy vehicles N7, N6 and NX8 based on the needs of Chinese users, and NX7 has just been officially announced. It is really unexpected that such a brand with such a fast progress in localized transformation is absent from the Chengdu Auto Show.
Overall, from the models exhibited by joint-venture brands at this year's Chengdu Auto Show, it can be seen that many joint-venture brands no longer use global new energy vehicles to promote their electrification process, but have exhibited many models developed based on local Chinese needs. Especially in terms of intelligence level, some brands have kept up with the pace of independent brands.
But at present, the competition in China's new energy market is still fierce. Even if joint-venture car companies build models that meet the needs of Chinese users, it is not easy for them to compete with new energy vehicles from mainstream independent brands.
Therefore, how joint-venture car companies can improve the competitiveness of their localized new energy vehicles to achieve sales growth is an important trend worthy of attention in the future.
In the era of online marketing, are auto shows still important?
In recent years, people's perceptions of auto shows have been changing subtly. As practitioners, Dianchetong (ID: dianchetong233) has also experienced the change in the public's attitude towards auto shows from Class A auto shows in recent years.
On the one hand, car companies now pay more attention to online marketing. Many automotive brands, especially leading brands, continue to increase their publicity efforts on the online side. Whether it is the concentrated debut of new cars or the public opinion confrontation between brands, they are all consuming users' attention. When users get enough information online, the sense of surprise of viewing cars offline is also fading, which is one of the reasons why many users feel that auto shows are becoming less and less interesting.
On the other hand, the gradual withdrawal of ultra-luxury brands from auto shows has also affected some users' enthusiasm for visiting. Some users think that in the past, visiting auto shows was to see Porsche, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce, but now you can only see brands like Xiaomi and Li Auto at auto shows. When the rare models that you can't see normally are no longer available at auto shows, many audiences will feel bored. Therefore, in the eyes of many users, the auto show seems to only have the fixed process of looking at car models, receiving gifts and getting small benefits...
So, are auto shows still important now? Is it meaningful to hold so many Class A auto shows every year?
Dianchetong (ID: dianchetong233) believes that nowadays, large-scale auto shows still have their non-negligible significance.
The first is the concentrated display of industry technologies and industry trends. This is similar to exhibitions such as CES, IFA and MWC in the consumer electronics industry. Car companies still need a platform to showcase new technologies, and the industry also needs to pay attention to trends with the help of exhibitions.
The second is to provide consumers with an option to compare models intensively and facilitate car purchases. In recent years, the sales attribute of Class A auto shows has also been increasing day by day, which is a more favorable change for consumers. Consumers can more conveniently experience new cars of various brands with the help of auto shows, and at the same time intuitively feel the technology, tonality and other characteristics of the brands. Compared with visiting 4S stores one by one to see cars, auto shows are more convenient in general.
Therefore, although the positioning of auto shows has gradually changed in recent years, auto shows are still important exhibitions with certain significance for both the industry and consumers. The large number of new cars at this Chengdu Auto Show also proves this point.
As for what the auto show will look like in the future, it will be up to time to reveal.