The Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off on Monday in China’s financial hub, a multiday event aimed at showcasing the best and brightest car innovations in the world’s biggest vehicle market.
Electric cars and intelligent-driving technology were a major theme, with everyone from startups to the most venerable automakers—and a new cabal of tech players, including Chinese telco giant Huawei Technologies Co.—plowing money into cleaner transport.
In a day full of highlights perhaps two stood out. The moment when Nio Inc. CEO William Li and Xpeng Inc. CEO He Xiaopeng, two leading lights of China’s EV onslaught, staged a very public walk around each other’s booths, attracting scores of onlookers who whipped out their mobile phones to record the moment.
At one point, Li crouched down on his haunches to check out the undercarriage of Xpeng’s P5 sedan, which is coming out later this year. Li also listened carfully to He’s introduction of Xpeng’s model flying car and asked for details about some of the components used.
Earlier in the day there was a ruckus of a very different sort when a woman protesting the technology used in Tesla Inc.’s cars leapt atop one of its models. Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Chinese writing that said “Brake Lost Control,” she batted away open umbrellas used by security guards to try conceal her message before eventually being escorted down from the vehicle’s roof.
That the show is even being held, in all its physical glory, is also unique. While many other countries are in the grips of worsening coronavirus outbreaks, China has largely managed to contain Covid, meaning big events such as this one are possible.
Bloomberg News captured the pulse of the show, which runs until April 28, throughout the main press day. Updated as of 5:50 p.m. in Beijing.
CEOs Of Nio, Xpeng Exude Optimism
Li and He were on form respectively as well, saying in separate interviews that they’re optimistic about the outlook for China’s EV market and confident of maintaining sales momentum from the first quarter.
Li, talking to Bloomberg Television, said March was a “milestone for China’s smart EV market as it was the first time EVs accounted for more than 10% of new car sales.”
“More and more individual users are buying EVs, and I think this is a very good start. I’m very optimistic about the market this year, including the second half,” he said.
Xpeng’s He meanwhile predicted the market would enter a rapid expansion phase in 2023 with more mid-priced EVs required. The EV upstart, which like Nio is listed in the U.S., will be aided by the introduction of its P5 family sedan later in 2021, he said.
VW Eyes Tesla In China
Volkswagen’s China CEO Stephan Wollenstein reckons it may take two or three years but eventually, the automaker will pull ahead of Tesla in terms of EV sales in Asia’s biggest economy.
The venerable European carmaker, which has a number of joint ventures in China including with SAIC Motor Corp., China FAW Group Co. and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp., currently has a share of the NEV market in the single digits but sees that increasing to beyond 10% as early as this year, Wollenstein said.