The Guangzhou Auto Show, the last A-level auto show of 2024, opens on November 15. It lasts for 10 days. The weather is hot, and the atmosphere is lively. Official data shows over 80 brands participate. The show features 1,171 vehicles, including 512 new energy cars and 78 global debuts. These numbers exceed those from the 2023 Guangzhou Auto Show.
The current auto show features 43% of new energy vehicles among the total exhibits. Major models mainly consist of new energy vehicles, with a rising proportion of plug-in hybrids and range extenders. Both new players and traditional automakers showcase their smart capabilities and future smart strategies. Clearly, the competition in smart technology has reached new heights. At the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show, we see new trends in the automotive industry. Let’s explore them together. Automakers’ leaders take the stage to attract attention. It has become a trend for company heads to showcase their products through live streaming. From price competition to technology competition to leadership competition, automakers adapt their marketing strategies to market changes. They enhance internet communication and foster direct interaction with consumers. At this year’s Guangzhou Auto Show, Xiaomi Group Chairman Lei Jun stands out as a high-traffic figure. After the press conference, he donned a green shirt and began exploring the exhibition. Wherever he went, a swarm of smartphone cameras followed. Each visit to an automaker’s booth stirred excitement.
Reports say Lei Jun visited the booths of XPeng, Li Auto, Great Wall, and Lido at the auto show. It seems that Lei Jun’s visits will become a regular feature at major car exhibitions. Interestingly, during a livestream, he admitted that the earlier “sleeping in the workshop” photo was staged. Besides Lei Jun, Huawei’s executive director Yu Chengdong also attended the Guangzhou auto show, drawing significant attention. On November 14, Yu Chengdong posted, “Hongmeng Smart Travel gathers for the first time at the Guangzhou auto show.” Before the show, he teased with a post, “Guess what the Zunji looks like.” This year, the Guangzhou auto show showcased the complete “Four Realms” of Hongmeng Smart Travel. Although the first model of Zunji is available only for select professionals, its large black barriers attracted many eyes. Yu Chengdong described the S800, the first model, as “big, prestigious, and stylish,” with a price around one million. Though the absence of Zunji disappointed some, Yu Chengdong hinted, “For the public, we will likely reveal more at our Mate 70 launch this month.” Unlike other brands, Jiyue Auto needs more attention. CEO Xia Yiping stated they aim for daily videos and weekly livestreams to build user interest and encourage potential customers to try their products. At this year’s Guangzhou auto show, Xia Yiping engaged directly with attendees at the Jiyue booth instead of resting backstage. He sought to enhance the brand’s visibility. Jiyue showcased a new supercar, the ROBO X, which caught the attention of many with its bold design.
As a leading traditional automaker, Chery Automobile has started to focus on traffic. Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue happily celebrated at the Guangzhou Auto Show. After throwing candy, tears of excitement filled his eyes. He then went to the Harmony Smart Mobility booth to discuss the success of the Zhijie R7 with Yu Chengdong. In terms of personal influence, Lei Jun is undoubtedly the king of traffic. For booth traffic, new force brands attract attention and generate sales. Industry experts believe that communication among executives helps them understand product strengths and weaknesses. This perspective encourages some automaker leaders to face the camera, live-streaming to draw more traffic and attention to their brands. Showcasing intelligent technology has become a consensus among automakers. As the penetration rate of new energy vehicles continues to rise, intelligent technology accelerates its spread. More new cars are advancing toward higher-level smart driving. Automakers are competing with various new technologies, from smart driving to chassis and motor technology. These trends shone brightly at the Guangzhou Auto Show. At this year’s show, Li Auto, Xpeng, Xiaomi, and Zeekr all mentioned a common feature: end-to-end, parking space to parking space. Li Auto announced the latest progress of its new generation intelligent driving technology architecture, end-to-end + VLM dual system. Li Auto reported that its parking space to parking space function, based on end-to-end + VLM, has begun testing with thousands of users and nationwide stores. By the end of November, all AD Max users will enjoy supervised intelligent driving from parking space to parking space.
Xpeng Motors announced testing for the parking-to-parking feature on the P7+. They claimed to be the first in the industry to use their software system, Xpeng NGP, for smart navigation from parking lots to city roads and back. He Xiaopeng hinted, “Next year, we will connect urban areas and highways with Xpeng NGP.” Xiaomi Motors accelerates its progress in smart driving. Lei Jun stated that the Xiaomi smart driving system upgraded to an end-to-end + VLM architecture. It will now be called Xiaomi HAD and will begin targeted internal testing on November 16. He also revealed that Xiaomi’s smart driving user activity exceeds 85%. Users have driven over 80 million kilometers, with NOA mileage accounting for 82.4% of that total. Zeekr showcased its self-developed Haohan Smart Driving 2.0 technology. This technology includes end-to-end PLUS and a digital perceptive network. The parking-to-parking feature will roll out nationwide in January. Before that, they aim to complete nationwide deployment of the no-map city NZP by December. In addition to these four companies, IM Motors announced partnerships with chip giant Nvidia and smart driving firm Momenta during the auto show. They will create the first batch of DRIVE AGX Thor chip production smart driving solutions, set to debut in IM’s production models in 2025. IM’s smart driving system will upgrade to IM AD 3.0, featuring a one-stage end-to-end intuitive smart driving model. This model will mimic experienced drivers’ ability to anticipate and visualize driving scenarios. Seres launched the slogan “Buy Wanjie, Get a Driver” and released data showing over 337,000 Wanjie smart driving users. They have accumulated over 930 million kilometers in smart driving, averaging 4.9 million new kilometers daily. Additionally, Wanjie has completed over 3 million OTA upgrades.
Many car companies target intelligent chassis technology beyond smart driving. Xiaomi released its intelligent chassis research technology. This includes full active suspension, a super four-motor system, 48V drive-by-wire braking, and 48V drive-by-wire steering. In its promotional video, Xiaomi showcased capabilities like turning in place, circular turns, jumping from a standstill, and dancing. This raised the attention on intelligent chassis technology. Apart from Xiaomi, the Haobo flagship model, Haobo HL, features the latest “smart digital chassis.” It can perform a tiger turn without four motors, with a minimum turning radius of only 3.4 meters. Baojun Yue also impressed with its four-wheel independent steering, performing all day at the exhibition. ZhiMi Motors displayed the new ZhiMi LS6 and ZhiMi L6 at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show. Both models feature the “Lingxi digital chassis” and the IM AD advanced driving system, enhancing performance in NOA mode. Notably, BYD, which occupied Hall 2.1, showcased parts of its intelligent body control system, including Yunlian-P and Yunlian-X, attracting significant attention. This suggests that intelligent chassis may soon become standard in smart cars. Domestic brands dominate the market. In the era of new energy vehicles, they have achieved significant growth. According to the latest data from the China Passenger Car Association, in October, domestic brands sold 1.48 million vehicles, a 32% increase year-on-year. Their domestic retail share rose to 65.7%, up 10.1 percentage points from last year. Undoubtedly, at this year’s Guangzhou Auto Show, domestic brands showcased their strength. After “occupying” the 2024 Chengdu Auto Show, BYD once again took a prominent position in Guangzhou, presenting its four major brands—BYD, Tengshi, Fangchengbao, and Yangwang.
At the auto show, BYD showcased multiple new models. These include the debut interior of the MPV Xia, the high-end Yangwang U7, the newly launched Tengshi Z9, and the Fangcheng Leopard 8. They also introduced their first full-size SUV, the Tengshi N9. BYD Group Chairman Wang Chuanfu stated, “The first half is electrification; the second half is intelligence.” BYD’s display highlighted its commitment to electrification and its shift towards intelligence. Chery Automobile matched BYD’s presence at the Guangzhou Auto Show. They brought four brands: Chery, Exeed, Jetour, and iCAR, featuring 38 models. Chery unveiled the SMPV concept car Jinyun and the hunting vehicle Liefeng. The Exeed Star Era ET extended-range all-wheel drive version began pre-sales. Jetour showcased the new Freer and the Shan Hai T1 and T2. The iCAR V23, with a cyberpunk style, also started pre-sales. Chery’s booth became one of the most popular at the show. Notably, Chery’s new MPV Jinyun attracted attention. It features a dual-opening door design and uses the seventh-generation Kunpeng super hybrid C-DM, which combines a 2.0T engine, dual vector motors, and a 3DHT transmission. It can achieve a total range of over 2000 km. Besides BYD and Chery, domestic brands Geely and Great Wall Motors also presented significant new vehicles. Geely showcased the Galaxy series and the China Star series. They also created a tech exhibition area to display innovations like the global next-generation Thor EM-i super hybrid, the Shield Group’s short-blade battery, and the GEA global intelligent new energy architecture.
Great Wall Motors announced its nationwide full-scenario NOA launch and the refreshed Coffee OS 3.1 at the auto show. Over 20 new Wey vehicles gathered at the Great Wall booth, showcasing a strong presence. The focus on smart technology enhances product competitiveness and attracts significant attention. New car manufacturers also made waves. Xiaomi Auto, attending the Guangzhou Auto Show for the first time, gained considerable visibility. The Xiaomi SU7 and Xiaomi SU7 Ultra debuted at the show. However, the Nio sub-brand, Lada, fell short of delivery expectations for its L60 due to battery production issues. Lada’s brand leader, Ai Tiecheng, set a target to deliver over 10,000 units in December and over 20,000 units by March next year. Several domestic brands also deserve attention. The “Hongmeng Four Realms” gathered, showcasing the GAC Aion UT electric car, the new R7, the Roewe D7 DMH, and the Roewe iMAX8 DMH. The newly launched MG ES5 also attracted interest. Joint venture car companies strive to catch up in smart electric vehicles. Many mainstream joint ventures struggled with sales due to lagging in the electrification of the Chinese market and fell behind in smart technology. However, at this year’s Guangzhou Auto Show, luxury brands like BBA made significant strides in electrification and intelligence. Mercedes-Benz showcased 29 new models at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show. The much-anticipated G-Class electric vehicle, the G 580 special edition, officially launched at a price of 2.17 million yuan. Mercedes also revealed its end-to-end driver assistance system, competing with top domestic smart driving capabilities. Before the show, Mercedes debuted its L2++ driverless technology. According to the official statement, the newly developed “no-map” L2++ advanced smart driving system uses end-to-end large models and data-driven landmark detection for integrated perception and decision-making.
Audi and SAIC launched the new brand AUDI and unveiled the first AUDI E concept car. The new car uses an intelligent digital platform. It retains Audi’s brand DNA. It incorporates technology from Momenta, an autonomous driving company invested in by SAIC. It features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 5nm 8295 chip, delivering 30 TOPS of computing power. The car also includes a laser radar, enabling future NOA functions for urban and highway driving. FAW Audi partnered with Huawei. The Q6L Sportback e-tron features dual laser radars and a visual fusion perception system. This setup provides L2++ level intelligent driving assistance. We speculate that the new car likely uses Huawei’s ADS 2.0 system, the one widely deployed in models like Wenjie and Avita.
BMW will accelerate its development of smart driving technology. The “vehicle-road-cloud integration” V2X technology will launch in January. The new BMW 5 Series, equipped with this technology, will also debut in January. This move aims to enhance advanced intelligent driving. Meanwhile, BMW continues local development of its smart cockpit. The latest BMW operating system customizes features for Chinese consumers, enhancing the driving experience. Toyota and Nissan unveiled new models featuring Momenta’s end-to-end smart driving solutions at the auto show. They plan to collaborate with Huawei to develop smart cockpit functions. The Dongfeng Nissan N7 will include the “City Memory Navigation NOA” feature. It aims for nationwide accessibility and ease of use. In contrast to domestic brands showcasing technology and attracting crowds, some joint venture brands opted for straightforward price cuts. The reduced prices for new cars are quite appealing. For example, SAIC Volkswagen launched the 2024 VW Viloran at a starting price of 199,900 yuan (27540$). This price for a seven-seat joint venture MPV is very attractive. SAIC Volkswagen’s T-Roc and Passat also offer “limited-time fixed prices.” This pricing model aligns more with new forces in sales, making prices direct and transparent. It reduces consumer uncertainty and distrust. Changan Mazda promotes the EZ-6 purchase benefits. These include a 10,000 yuan (1380$) trade-in subsidy, 7,999 yuan (1100$) lifetime zero fuel rights, 5,000 yuan (690$) customization fund, 3,999 yuan (550$) Bluetooth charging station, and free basic data for life. Overall, this package is very cost-effective. In the luxury segment, SAIC General Motors Cadillac launched the new XT6 with a “limited-time fixed price” ranging from 349,900 to 409,900 yuan (56470$). This brings the starting price of luxury mid-size SUVs below 350,000 yuan (48220$).
Volvo launched a limited-time discount on the XC60, reducing the official price from 425,900 yuan (58680$) to 319,900 yuan (44070$). Other models, like the BAIC Alpha T5, Dongfeng Yipai eπ008, and Roewe D7 DMH World Champion Edition, also joined the price-cutting trend, with reductions reaching several tens of thousands of yuan. Industry experts believe that the automotive market faces increasing pressure. Domestic brands and new car manufacturers are squeezing the market share of joint venture companies. Joint ventures lag in the new energy sector and must lower prices to enhance the competitiveness of fuel vehicles. In summary, the major automakers showcased their new models and technologies at the Guangzhou Auto Show. This event summarizes the year’s market and reflects companies’ outlooks for next year. Experts expect the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show to further stimulate automotive consumption and support steady improvement in the national market.