Beijing Auto Show Scale
- The 2026 Beijing Auto Show will run ten days and showcase 1,451 models across 380,000 square metres. (scmp.com) - Chinese premium EV makers are using software, AI, and autonomy to challenge BMW and Mercedes-Benz. (scmp.com) - Analysts say the expo underlines how central China is to premium EV competition and global car markets. (scmp.com)
Beijing’s auto show opens April 24 as the world’s largest car expo, with 1,451 vehicles spread across 380,000 square metres over 10 days. (scmp.com) The 2026 event runs through May 3 and uses two linked venues for the first time: the China International Exhibition Center in Shunyi and the Capital International Exhibition and Convention Center. Organizers say the show includes 181 world premieres, 71 concept cars and 212 press conferences. (autoshow.org.cn) The schedule is split into two media days on April 24-25, two trade days on April 26-27 and six public days from April 28 to May 3. Organizers say more than 2,000 exhibitors are expected. (autoshow.org.cn) What fills that space is the larger story: Chinese brands are bringing premium electric models loaded with software, driver-assistance systems and in-car artificial intelligence into the same arena long dominated by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. South China Morning Post reported that the show is set to put dozens of those new upscale models in front of buyers and investors at once. (scmp.com) Industry coverage ahead of the show says Chinese automakers are pairing those features with lower prices than German rivals in the premium segment. Automotive News reported this week that domestic brands are targeting Mercedes, BMW and Porsche with high-spec electric vehicles priced below comparable European models. (autonews.com) The scale also reflects how central China has become to the global car business. The official English-language show site calls Auto China 2026 the leading auto show in the world by exhibition area, and organizers say the expansion was designed to accommodate both global manufacturers and China’s fast-growing domestic industry. (autobeijing.org.cn) Foreign brands are still taking large stands. Official show materials list BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota among the international manufacturers appearing alongside Chinese groups such as BYD, FAW, Geely and Great Wall Motor. (cnevpost.com) The Beijing show has been running since 1990, but the 2026 edition is the first to fully combine both adjacent exhibition complexes into one event. That turns this year’s floor plan into a physical measure of the market shift the industry has been tracking for months: more models, more launches and more premium competition centered in China. (autoshow.org.cn)
