Shanghai Motor Show: A wrap of some of the brand new stuff you may not have seen or read about yet
The sheer size of the Shanghai motor show has to be seen to be appreciated.
Sixteen halls, each substantially bigger than the entire Melbourne motor show, with around 100 auto brands on display hosting about the same number of global debuts – almost all of them electrified in some way.
We’ve covered some of the most significant reveals individually over the last few days, but that was barely brushing the surface of this incredible automotive extravaganza.
Here are some of the other new vehicles – both production-ready and concept – we spotted and found interesting during our foot slogging.
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Avatr 06
While it had already been previewed in China, the Shanghai show was the first time the Avatr 06 bowed in a serious way. It also coincided with its China on-sale timing.
This is the fourth model from Avatr Technology, a luxury subsidiary of Changan – which already sells Deepal in Australia – in cooperation with Chinese tech heavyweights Huawei and CATL (among others).
The 06 is a 4.85m long four-door sedan that is pitched in China as a Tesla Model 3 rival even though it comes as a range extender hybrid as well as an EV.
The EV comes in both rear-and all-wheel drive formats, boasts up to 440kW, has 800V fast-charging and a 72.88kWh LFP battery.
Buick Electra GS concept
The GS was unveiled at the Shanghai show to celebrate the launch of a new Buick sub-brand in China called Electra.
Electra is, of course, a revered name within Buick’s automotive history, first appearing in 1959.
Buick already sells two Electra soft-roaders in China, the 4 and 5.
But the sub-brand will be for electrified vehicles underpinned by a new architecture dubbed Xiao Yao developed by GM in co-operation with Chinese giant SAIC.
Xiao Yao will support BEVs, PHEVs and range extenders, as well as front-, rear- and all-wheel drive. Multiple body styles will also be offered.
Six Electra modes will be rolled out over the next 12 months as Buick and parent General Motors look to reverse an alarming sales slump in China.
The GS, GM stated, was “envisioned as a mobile art space”.
Chery Tiggo 9L
Perhaps confusingly, the Chery Tiggo 9L bears no relationship to the Chery Tiggo 9 large family SUV, which launches in Australia later this year.
While that vehicle is a pretty orthodox soft-roader, the 9L is a real off-roader powered by a version of the Kunpeng hybrid system fitted with three electric motors.
Kunpeng will be capable of running in economy, high performance on-road and off-road modes.
Variable dampers and “tank turn” ability are also fitted to the 9L. The vehicle on show included 20-inch alloy wheels, side steps and roof racks.
The interior will come with a three-screen digital cockpit and six- or seven-seats.
Australian chances? Not guaranteed at this stage.
Fang Cheng Bao Tai 3
The little brother to the Australia-bound Fang Cheng Bao Bao 5 (that will be sold here as a Denza) went on-sale in China shortly before the Shanghai show.
Clearly popular among the locals, the Tai 3 is a boxily-styled GWM Tank 300 competitor powered by a dual e-motor all-wheel drive system generating a combined 310kW.
That’s enough oomph to propel the Tai 3 from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds. Its 78.72 kWh Li-ion battery pack is good for a 510km CLTC range between recharging.
Driving aids include an intelligent torque adaptation control system and predictive adaptive damping. The Tai 3 is based on a monocoque chassis rather than a ladder frame.
Inside there is the usual digital screens and in China it comes with parent BYD’s God’s Eye autonomous driving system. There’s also an optional DJI drone to provide an aerial view.
Honda GT
Honda presented its second round of China-exclusive Ye Series EVs in the form of the five-door GT.
There was a trick here however. There are actually two slightly different GTs, one made by Honda’s partner Dongfeng and the other by Honda’s other China partner GAC.
They are identifiable by different front-end styling; the one you’re looking at here is the GAC.
Honda explained the differences in classic PR speak: “The GAC Honda GT expresses a seamless, sophisticated and smart sense of the future, while the Dongfeng Honda GT expresses an emotional sense of the future that stimulates people who see the vehicle.”
Sure.
No detail about the GT’s technology was offered.
Hongqi 4×4 concept
China’s oldest brand Hongqi – Red Flag in Chinese – showed off this hard-core SUV in Shanghai and announced a public competition to name it.
Submit the winning entry and your prize is an example of the car you named for free!
Little info has been released about the powertrain except that it has four e-motors and a clamed 0-100km/h time of four seconds.
The Hongqi No-Name has some classic 4×4 exterior signatures including a boxy overall shape, side steps, roof racks, a ladder and the spare tyre mounted on the side-opening tailgate.
JAC DEFINE concept
We’ve just seen the JAC DEFINE electric supercar concept at the Melbourne motor show. In Shanghai an SUV concept was added to the line-up.
Dubbed the DEFINE-X, the SUV includes high-end tech such as latest-gen driver assistants, a Huawei-developed intelligent chassis and crab walking capability.
The DEFINE S supercar on show was an update of the vehicle seen in Melbourne and was also making its global debut.
Jaecoo J5 EV
In amongst about one million Chery Group unveils in Shanghai was the Jaecoo J5 compact electric SUV.
Jaecoo has just launched in Australia with the J7 medium SUV range and the similarly squared-off J5 is its logical follow-up.
The brand’s first pure EV, it shapes as a natural competitor for the Kia EV3 and BYD Atto 3. The J5 is confirmed as having about 400km of range, but little more concrete info has been offered as yet.
However, as the J5 shares the Omoda E5’s architecture it’s likely to be a very similar offering. So front wheel drive and a 61.1kWh battery pack are likely.
A previously-revealed petrol-powered J5 is also on the cards for Australia.
Leapmotor B01
The Leapmotor B01 sedan is not be confused with the B10 compact SUV, that is already confirmed for Australia as both an EV and range extender hybrid.
Launched only as an EV, the B01 is claimed to have better aerodynamics than a Porsche Taycan or Tesla Model S. That no doubt contributes to its claimed range of up to 600km.
Leapmotor is also claiming exceptional interior space utilisation, which along with its typically cut-throat pricing should endear it to Chinese Didi drivers.
Australian chances? Nothing official yet, but it’s being examined.
