Extra-large and very shiny motor shows are alive and well in China, if the biennial Beijing Auto Show is any guide (check back on our visits in 2010 and 2012). The 19th edition took place from 24 April to 23 May and broke a new world record by taking over an exhibition space of 380,000 sq m – perhaps appropriate to reflect a vehicle market that has long been the globe’s biggest sales region and is now arguably the most technologically advanced.
The sheer scale of the Beijing Auto Show
Within two huge buildings and 17 halls, there were 1,451 vehicles – including 71 concept cars – and almost 1,000 exhibitors came to set up shop and turn the dial to eleven.
The AiMoga robot display
Taking nearly half an hour to walk from one end of the show to the other, Wallpaper* confesses it did not manage to attend all of the approximately 180 press conferences on the mobbed main press day but did manage to capture some of the key unveils – and improve our average step-count considerably.
Audi A6L e-tron, R26 F1 car and AUDI E7X
The biggest stands and loudest fanfare in 2026 were made by domestic Chinese brands – including BYD, BAIC, Chery, Geely, Li Auto, Nio and Xpeng – but many Western, Korean and Japanese brands were also in attendance with key unveils of their own.
Geely Galaxy Park
Every kind of vehicle typology was on display, from the refreshingly small and cool new two-seater Smart concept, to dozens of svelte electric saloons and sports cars, plug-in hybrid crossovers of every size and badge and hundreds of slightly different takes on the rugged off-roader format, in various levels of homage to a Mercedes G-Wagen, Land Rover Defender or Jeep Wrangler.
BYD Ocean-V Concept
Among this overwhelming ‘more-is-more’ collective product offensive there was a smattering of shining stars. Read on for the 2026 Beijing Auto Show Top Ten.
Hyundai Ioniq V
Hyundai Ioniq V
Already wowed by the hunkered-down Hyundai Venus concept revealed just a few weeks prior, most showgoers were shocked to see the South Korean stalwart release a production-ready version very close in character and proportion to the saloon concept – called the Ioniq V – at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show.
Hyundai Ioniq V interior
The low-slung result, with its slimline lights and bonnet-merging-into-windscreen-at-the-same-angle is stunning in the flesh and while not completely original in the history of car design, does stand apart from the current China market crowd, where it will relaunch the Hyundai brand before hopefully being exported worldwide as an affordable and connected EV and extended range electric vehicle (EREV).
Hyundai Ioniq V
It’s part of Hyundai’s ‘Lead not Follow’ design approach and a calculated risk in the world’s biggest market, but one CEO Jose Munoz is prepared to take, as he said on stage in Beijing: ‘China is where the future of mobility is being defined, and Hyundai intends to help define it, in China, for China, and ultimately, for the world.’
Smart #2 Concept
Kai Sieber, head of design at Smart, with the #2
The Smart brand’s original reason for being has seemed like the distant past for some time. To recap, it was launched as a highly efficient city car, with room for two seats and luggage, that was so small – 2.5 m long x 1.5m wide – that two could nestle nose to the kerb without their backsides sticking out into traffic in a space where other drivers could only parallel-park one. But with the #2 unveiled at the Beijing show, that ethos is back.
Smart #2 Concept
The concept isn’t quite as diminutive as the original – it’s a little longer, at 2.79m, and a lot wider, at 1.9m – but the proportions are chunkily in keeping with the functional aesthetic of the first one, with neat details throughout and, best of all, a fully-electric production model will follow at the 2026 Paris Motor Show in October. After decades of Smart making bigger and more bloated models, it’s a breath of fresh (and very cool) air.
iCar Robox Concept
iCar Robox Concept
The Chery Group sprouts new brands like a well-watered rose bush does flowers right now and iCar is one of its more recent. Established as a standalone EV marque in 2023 (and also known as iCaur to stave off Apple's legal eagles), the company started by launching likeable but derivative off-road vehicles like the V23 in 2024.
But the 2026 Robox concept shown at Beijing feels like a step forward in originality with its combination of sloping windscreen and bonnet, more associated with aero-inspired saloons and coupés, unusually paired with a jacked-up body and 4x4 design cues. Currently on sale in selected Asian markets, iCar is another Chery brand that could soon come to the UK and Europe, where it will join successful stablemates Jaecoo and Omoda.
BYD Ocean-V Concept
BYD Ocean-V Concept render
Build Your Dreams, better known as BYD, has been an early export trailblazer within the leading domestic Chinese brands, and its cars are now a familiar sight across Europe. Less familiar, for now, is the Ocean-V concept, which BYD’s PR says, ‘refuses to fall into the usual categories of sedan, SUV or MPV’.
BYD Ocean-V Concept interior
As the statement alludes, the Ocean-V takes inspiration from many vehicles and mixes them up pleasingly with three interior modes – Driving, Cinema and Camping – made possible by flexible seating and novel details including jellyfish-shaped speakers that magnetically attach to many parts of the car for a more personalised experience. More of this please.
AUDI E7X
AUDI E7X SUV
Audi in China currently has two faces and identities: one range sporting the famous four rings logo known worldwide and one with just four letters – AUDI in all caps – as an EV sub-brand specifically aimed at younger Chinese customers.
It’s an odd combination to accommodate on one stand, but at the Beijing Auto Show that’s exactly what happened. Of the two approaches, the newer ‘no rings’ AUDI brand seems the more coherent, as showcased by the E7X SUV unveiled for the first time and the ES Sportback.
Peugeot Concept 6
Peugeot Concept 6 and Concept 8
Peugeot is also a Western brand attempting to reboot its Chinese presence by way of its joint venture with local partner Dongfeng. The French marque unveiled two convincing EV concepts: a shooting brake four-door called 6 and a taller SUV named 8 – plus the excellent but more far-out Polygon concept first revealed in December 2025. Of the two near-production concepts, the stylish 6 is most up our street and both are slated for production without too many changes, China first other markets to follow.
Geely Eva Cab Concept
Geely Eva Cab Concept robotaxi
There were a lot of robots in Beijing. Chery even has its own sub-brand for robotic products called AiMoga and the recent Beijing E-Town Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon red-chested champ – known as ‘Lighting’, developed by smartphone company Honor – was also seen scuttling through the halls on press day.
Geely's Eva Cab and robotic companion
Geely went a step further by deciding to show a robotaxi called the Eva Cab, complete with its own robot. Despite its no doubt 21st-century abilities, the car’s exterior design had a strong whiff of 1980s space-age aesthetics (particularly those wheels).
Hyundai Earth Concept
Hyundai Earth Concept
Another bright Hyundai vehicle especially angled for the Chinese market and shown in Beijing was the Earth Concept. Ruggedly faceted on the outside and sporting interesting see-through blow-up seat bolsters on the inside it seems ready for a seriously futuristic sci-fi adventure.
The interior of the Hyundai Earth Concept
The company suggests the model could be production-bound for China, perhaps in very similar form to this concept. Here’s hoping.
Buick Electra Zenith Concept
Buick Electra Zenith concept
US brand Buick has had a strong affinity with Chinese customers for many decades due to long memories of old Chinese leaders once rolling around in snazzy versions as far back as the 1920s and early 1930s. And China is still Buick’s biggest market, so it made sense to show its latest thoroughly future-facing and autonomy-inspired Electra Zenith concept in Beijing where bodywork and side glass colour merge into one uninterrupted and convincing shape.
Geely Galaxy Light Gen II Concept
Geely Galaxy Light Gen II
The second-generation Galaxy Light saloon may have been one of the most conventionally proportioned concepts shown in Beijing, but its detailing and execution were highly accomplished, nonetheless. The broader Geely Group has long owned Western brands including Volvo, Lotus and Polestar but now its specific Geely brand is seeking a higher profile, clearer identity and ambitious sales as it launches in overseas markets. One to watch.