Given half the show was announced in advance there were a few less surprises than you’d expect but some crept through.
Most notable was MG not bringing the Cyberster, unveiled days earlier. We suspect the brand is saving the car for a launch at somewhere like the Goodwood Festival of Speed, to help rebuild the brand’s British roots, but for now, we have to make do with seeing them driving near the factory in Shanghai.
Neta GT Speedster
Start-up Neta sprang a welcome surprise with their GT Speedster concept. We know China’s brands are getting more confident, you need to look no further than the GT itself becoming the first Chinese coupe since the Brilliance BC3, but a speedster with helmets that rise out of the trunk? That’s just performance art, and we love it. Keep surprising us, Neta!
Geely upped their microcar game in Shanghai, much to the pleasure of everyone, by adding a jacked-up chunky Panda Mini to the line-up alongside a ‘What the Duck?’ version. The chunky Panda adds alloys, a grille, bonnet grab handles, and a removable Bluetooth speaker amongst a few other accouterments, and it very nearly stole the show in the process.
Bestune too, perennial survivors despite nobody ever seeing one on the roads, rolled out a speedster version of their new Pony microcar. It looked utterly ridiculous with an enormous rear wing and racing belts, as did the riveted metal alternative and a penguin-themed ‘PuPu’ edition complete with horns and jet turbines, but it was cool and that’s all that matters.
Hycan V09
Hycan apparently didn’t think their V09 MPV was quite ‘out-there’ enough so rounded off the front end, painted it prosthetic limb beige, and shoved chunky off-road wheels and arches on it. The result was some kind of desert people carrier with a vanity mirror inside, the most bizarre thing we’ve maybe ever seen. Worse than that, it was half-finished and visibly so. Sort it out, Hycan.
Oh, and an honorable mention to Great Wall’s Cyberpickup. We’d seen it coming of course in spy shots and they only went and actually made it, basically giving it the Tank 300 Cyber treatment, pretty much nabbing the Cybertruck’s name, and whacking an extra axle on for good measure. It’s not even electric, but fair play for the laughs.
Summary
There are enough narratives ongoing here to fill a book and even more still to discuss, but one thing is certain, the Chinese are coming, and far faster than most people outside of China dared to imagine.
One oft-cited criticism of Chinese cars has been building quality but, as one western journalist wrote in Autocar, Chinese cars are now every bit as well put together as their foreign peers.
Not only that, but the intensity of the competition is breeding insanely fast growth. The Chinese automotive market now is like the smartphone app market of the early 21st century: everyone is trying new things, pushing boundaries, and the pace is utterly relentless.
Whether that, combined with a brutal price war, will lead to the predicted consolidation in the coming months and years remains to be seen, but don’t forget that China has had many brands for some time now and some, like cockroaches, never seem to succumb. China’s market is vast already, meanwhile, export sales in South East Asia and South America are keeping the petrol dollars rolling in for now, so underestimate them at your peril.
And what about trends? The startling number of new pick-up trucks suggests China is going outdoors in a big way so expect this market to continue ramping up (even if Geely’s Radar missed the show).
Equally, the only direction is premium. Nearly every brand that was formerly in the mainstream ICE game has now either opened a new brand to compete for mid- and high-end audiences, or is lifting the standard of their usual products with electrification, serious screen real estate, and sumptuous materials.
This looks like being the century of the Chinese automaker and you’d be mad to be against it.
