Chengdu auto show: Few New Cars, But High Quality

"This year's Chengdu Auto Show doesn't have many new cars!"

Considering the intense level of competition in the car market in 2025, it's rather puzzling that a highly regionally forward-looking auto show didn't see a cluster of new car releases. Especially since it's held in Chengdu. As the most significant international auto show in the Southwest region, bearing the title of "international," it should at least present itself in a manner comparable to those in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Unfortunately, with only a few days left until the opening of the auto show, based on the currently known information, there are very few new cars, which is likely to be quite accurate.

Compared to the past, due to the dramatic changes in the car market, there are indeed fewer and fewer players able to survive. Naturally, the depth of new car launches across the entire industry has shown a trend of reduction. But does this necessarily mean that the momentum of new car debuts at auto shows will significantly weaken?

In April, at the Shanghai Auto Show, the outside world truly saw that the downturn in the car market did not exist. New cars were abundant, and the event was as grand as ever. Therefore, half a year later to today, it's not that the Chengdu Auto Show is unworthy; I am more inclined to believe that major car companies are choosing to forgo large-scale operations in Chengdu to free up resources and focus on betting heavily on the Guangzhou Auto Show at the end of the year.

However, no matter how uninteresting it may be, the Chengdu Auto Show still holds significance in the Southwest market.

At first glance, it seems that no newly debuted cars will appear, but considering the market activities in recent months, a large number of newly launched cars collectively landing in Chengdu is still quite noteworthy. Additionally, the debut of certain models also makes it worth the ticket price.

01Mid to large-sized SUVs are clustered together, with none yielding to the others.

This year, in exploring market development, we have clearly noticed one thing: regardless of the car manufacturer, the innovation and iteration frequency of models have significantly converged. Throughout the first half of the year, there were no quirky new cars; the market was dominated by large range-extended/plug-in hybrid SUVs, which speaks volumes about the situation.

Image | NIO All-new ES8

At this time, with the Geely Galaxy M9, NIO ES8, Hyper HL range extender, and a bunch of other new cars being pre-sold or launched before the show, the Chengdu Auto Show has at least allowed this group of mid-to-large SUVs to dominate the spotlight.

The all-new generation NIO ES8 is undoubtedly the king of war in this overt and covert battle. With Li Bin's determination to keep NIO alive, the ES8 with a battery rental pre-sale price of 308,800 yuan, what kind of existence is it exactly?

Compared to the current model, the price has been reduced by more than 100,000 RMB, combined with the full set of skills from NIO's latest technology platform. It can be said that if users are not particular about the brand, in terms of product strength alone, this car is almost unmatched.

Image | Geely Galaxy M9

Similarly, if the all-new ES8 is the absolute representative of outstanding value in the 400,000 yuan SUV segment, then in the 200,000 yuan market, which is the most accessible to the masses, the Geely Galaxy M9 is another standout contender.

With a pre-sale starting at 193,800 yuan, even before its official launch, major figures in the automotive industry are already claiming that "this car can easily sell over 10,000 units per month." This indicates the level of attention it will attract once it is unveiled at the auto show.

This year, Geely has shown an aggressive stance in its competition for the market. Whether it's closely following BYD to initiate a price war or leading its various brands to conquer different market segments, the posture it presents is rarely seen in the industry.

Image | Volvo's All-New XC70

In Chengdu, the Galaxy M9 has penetrated the mid-to-large SUV market like a sharp sword. Under its leadership, it is expected that the all-new Volvo XC70 and the smart #5 EHD from the same group will capitalize on the booming plug-in hybrid market, adding a spark to their respective brands.

For the former, as Volvo's most important new car in 2025, the all-new XC70 can be said to represent the fierce momentum of traditional luxury brands launching a full-scale offensive since its announcement.

On the eve of the Chengdu Auto Show, the all-new XC70 will officially go on pre-sale, which means that on the day of the auto show, whether it's out of Volvo's determination to innovate that you choose to see this new car, or simply out of curiosity about the XC70 that you attend to experience it, this car can be considered a heavyweight model in the traditional luxury lineup of the entire Chengdu Auto Show.

Image==Smart Genie #5 EHD

In contrast, although the smart Elf #5 EHD seems more like a power derivative vehicle, with the multiple highlights of Geely's hybrid technology, the Elf #5 EHD, which appears with the END suffix, is still likely to make many competitors nervous.

Even though the European lineage of smart is somewhat diluted now, with the technical advantages brought by Geely to this car, combined with the design features of the #5 model and its repositioning away from being the king of small cars, it can indeed shoulder the responsibility of boosting the somewhat dull Chengdu Auto Show's attention.

Looking at the entire Chengdu Auto Show, we cannot deny that the SUV market is completely surrounded by a multitude of domestic new energy vehicles. However, it's quite interesting to talk about this particular imported car.

Image | The all-new generation Hyundai Palisade

Reflecting on the Shanghai Auto Show in April, with Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis collectively absent, it once made people think that Korean cars would completely abandon the Chinese market. Surprisingly, at the beginning of this month, Hyundai imported the all-new generation Palisade to China.

The all-new Palisade, featuring a brand-new design and a new 2.5T hybrid system, can be considered a breath of fresh air in the current Chinese mid-to-large SUV market. Unsurprisingly, this new car is expected to officially start pre-sales in Chengdu. However, despite how appealing this imported car may be, its ultimate fate remains uncertain.

02Covering all price ranges, sedans refuse to play a supporting role.

SUVs have always been the favorite model among Chinese consumers. Even today, despite the challenging economic environment, to be honest, as long as the price drops, people's desire to buy only SUVs remains strong.

Image | Ford Mustang New Energy

In fact, when gathering information on which SUVs are expected to appear at the Chengdu Auto Show, in addition to the models mentioned above, other vehicles such as the GAC Aion S9, Ford Bronco New Energy, Chery Fengyun T11, and Shangjie H5 are also very likely to make an appearance. However, given the importance of these models and the limited existing product information, only a few models that are relatively important to their respective brands have been selectively highlighted.

Compared to SUVs, the attention towards other categories in the market this year is indeed average. However, when it comes to the density of new cars, the sedan market, which serves as the foundation of the car market, is still quite significant.

In just a few months, with the Geely Galaxy A7 leading the charge of high-volume, value-for-money products, consumers have felt the ambition of car companies determined to capture the market. Currently, in the more niche sedan market, new models such as the all-new MG4 and Arcfox T1 have chosen to debut in August, which is undoubtedly related to the Chengdu Auto Show.

Image | New MG MG4

At this level, the launch of the all-new MG4 is not only SAIC MG's trump card for the domestic market but also carries the mission of capturing various regional markets overseas with the MG brand's new electric vehicle.

The new car can be described as a rebirth, with a completely new generation that bears no resemblance to the current MG4. However, in SAIC's view, this relatively softer design may better suit the tastes of domestic users.

In the market for small pure electric cars priced around 100,000 yuan, the Volkswagen ID.3, Aion UT, and BYD Dolphin are all quite charming, and in terms of sales, they are all performing exceptionally well. Given this situation, the current evaluation may not meet expectations, but if you want the new MG4 to continue the tough style of the current model, it is likely that SAIC's management would not necessarily agree.

Image | SAIC Volkswagen's All-New Lamando L

To put it bluntly, the development trend of the small car market has always been dominated by women. To truly break through this layer of relationship, I think it needs to at least rise to the A-class sedan market.

At this year's Chengdu Auto Show, we might witness the update of the SAIC Volkswagen Lamando L. Although the new car appears to be just a mid-cycle facelift of the current model based on previous application images, it marks the return of SAIC Volkswagen's longstanding hints at performance sedans. From the earliest Skoda Octavia RS to the first-generation Lamando GTS, this update comes after a hiatus of several years.

The all-new Lingdu L will introduce the GTS model as the top configuration in the entire lineup. In addition to adopting a more aggressive exterior design, the inclusion of a 2.0T high-power engine and DQ381 dual-clutch transmission significantly elevates the class of the Lingdu L, and notably rekindles the waning flame of fuel-powered performance cars.

Image | Avatr 11

Certainly, from a price perspective, the price of the brand-new Lingdu L is capped at around 200,000 yuan. Further up, as the latest high-end plug-in hybrid sedan from the Lantu brand, the Zhuiguang L will support the positioning height of the entire sedan lineup at the auto show.

According to the official information released, unlike the current model of Zhui Guang, the Zhui Guang L will be the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid sedan with an 800V+5C ultra-fast charging and a super large battery. It will also have the world's longest pure electric range of 410 kilometers for a plug-in hybrid sedan. Meanwhile, the Lantu Zhui Guang L will be equipped with the latest Huawei Qian Kun intelligent driving assistance and HarmonyOS smart cockpit.

In fact, despite the new car still using the name "Zhuiguang," its entirely new exterior design, which approaches that of a "Rolls-Royce," positions the Zhuiguang L as a competitor to 500,000-level executive vehicles. However, given the current market competitiveness, it is expected that Lantu will set a price for the Zhuiguang L that maximizes cost-effectiveness.

Image: XPeng's brand-new P7

Overall, the new models showcased at this year's Chengdu Auto Show indeed have a significant gap compared to previous years. Especially in terms of quantity, as can be seen from the summary of the new car lineup above, there is no clustering of new cars in either the traditional sedan and SUV markets or in some of the more niche markets.

Even if we consider various models with high popularity or derivative versions of car series that have already been unveiled, such as the new XPeng P7 and the AITO HL extended range, it still seems incomparable. We can only say that this situation makes us even more eager for the Guangzhou Auto Show at the end of the year, which will once again showcase a flourishing scene of new car releases.