Intelligent driving and ultrafast charging take center stage at Beijing Auto Show

China’s biggest auto show opened in Beijing on April 24 with Chinese carmakers centering electric vehicles, assisted driving systems and faster charging. (autochinashow.org) (apnews.com) Organizers said Auto China 2026 runs through May 3 across the China International Exhibition Center in Shunyi and the Capital International Exhibition and Convention Center. The show lists 1,451 vehicles, 181 world premieres and 71 concept cars across 380,000 square meters. (autochinashow.org) Associated Press reported that displays across the halls emphasized “intelligent driving” and ultrafast charging as Chinese brands fought for buyers at home and abroad. Photos from the floor showed executives from Xpeng and other domestic brands presenting new models on April 24. (apnews.com) (techxplore.com) The technology on display mixed near-term products with concept cars that preview where brands want to go next. CarNewsChina’s roundup highlighted BYD’s Ocean-V family concept, Xiaomi’s Vision GT performance concept and Chery iCAUR’s RoBox among the show’s headline experiments. (carnewschina.com) Geely used the show to present a native robotaxi prototype built as a driverless vehicle from the start rather than a converted passenger car. CarNewsChina said the prototype uses an L4-level architecture and does not include conventional driving controls. (carnewschina.com) BYD also brought production-focused hardware into the conversation before the show opened. CnEVPost reported that the third-generation Yuan Plus, known overseas as the Atto 3, would debut in Beijing with BYD’s latest flash-charging technology. (cnevpost.com) Foreign brands showed up with China-specific bets instead of treating Beijing as a generic global stage. Electrek reported that Audi gave the E5 Sportback its public debut there, while Volkswagen showed a Jetta-branded electric sport utility vehicle concept aimed at China’s budget market. (electrek.co) The scale helps explain why the show matters beyond Beijing. Official show materials said nearly 30,000 journalists covered the two media days, including nearly 4,000 from overseas, underscoring how closely the global industry is tracking China’s electric vehicle market. (autochinashow.org) What opened on April 24 was not just a display of new sheet metal. It was a floor full of cars and concepts built around batteries, software and sensors, with China’s brands trying to define the next buying cycle before rivals do. (autochinashow.org) (apnews.com)