After a three-year hiatus, the highly anticipated Shanghai Auto Show returned this month. Over the past few decades, there have been several internationally recognized and influential auto shows, such as the Geneva Motor Show, Frankfurt Motor Show, Tokyo Motor Show, Detroit Auto Show, etc. However, since the 21st century, China's booming automotive industry and market have made it difficult for other countries or regions to keep up. The Shanghai and Beijing Auto Shows are particularly significant, with global car companies choosing to unveil their heavyweight models at these two shows. Due to the pandemic in recent years and the skyrocketing sales of NEVs in the Chinese market, the return of the Shanghai Auto Show is highly anticipated and expected to set clear trends for the development of the automotive industry in the next decade. The theme of this year's show is "Embracing the New Era of the Automotive Industry." In short, the exhibition is based on vehicle electrification and further pursuit of higher-level and more diverse intelligent technology highlights. It also provides a platform for exchange and cooperation in the new era of the auto industry chain to build a core driving force for technological innovation in the automotive industry ecosystem. The auto show is no longer just a showcase for new car models but includes the entire ICT industry supply chain to seek more imaginative space for auto tech innovation.
In this year's Shanghai Auto Show, not only did all Tier one supply giants such as Bosch, Japan Electric, and Valeo show up, but also well-known manufacturers and suppliers of batteries, high-end auto chips, radar, ADAS, connected cars, high-precision maps, and autonomous driving solutions manufacturers actively participated for business opportunities. This means that the auto show is not just a platform for consumers, but also the best opportunity-seeking platform across industries. This is in line with the exhibition goal of this year's Q4 Tokyo Auto Show, which will be renamed the "Japan Mobility Show.” On this day, it will be too narrow-minded If we simply recognize it as an "auto show.” However, new car model announcements are still the focus at this year's Shanghai Auto Show. The organizers claim that 150 new car models will debut during the exhibition, many of which belong to China's self-owned brands. Although the figure is a bit exaggerated under international standards, looking at international joint venture brands, many heavyweight products will still hold their first launch event during the media day. Whether it is BEV or PHEV, almost all brands have presented their "answers," but their technical values still have considerable differences. China's domestic brands or start-up brands have generally surpassed traditional car companies in Europe, America, and Japan in their ability to integrate triad (battery, electric control, motor) technologies and self-developed capabilities. The causes were the enormous domestic demand market stimulating research and development energy and China's more complete and coast-competitive new technology supply chain. Therefore, the new car model R&D of these car manufacturers can continue to promote and accelerate the process of new model launches. The movement of tech giants such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Baidu entering the car-making field has also ignited fierce competition in the intelligent upgrading field, including upgrading from autonomous driving to intelligent cabins for personalized scenes (such as office, travel, audio, and video entertainment), and even the use of ChatGPT for intelligent voice dialogue, all of which will push the driving experience to a higher level. From another perspective, traditional auto powers such as Europe, America, and Japan, have fallen behind in new automotive technology, with Japan lagging in NEV development. Currently, most products these car companies can put on the market belong to short-term strategies and must rely on the brand power accumulated over several decades to stabilize the market sales share. The long-term solutions to catch up with the pace may have to wait until after 2025. This phenomenon is quite apparent from the new car models displayed at the auto show. As time and market changes wait for no one, brand power must also be supported by the product power of new car models. Otherwise, it will only dwindle as time goes on.
The resumption of the Shanghai Auto Show demonstrates the tremendous changes in automotive technology development over the past two or three years. The winning formula for car manufacturers' products in the past is no longer applicable now and in the future. The subjective definition of brand power will change fundamentally as the objective definition of product power emerges in the new era. It will be increasingly strenuous for auto companies to survive through individual efforts, and technological alliances or joint ventures will be necessary to catch up with the leading group. As the world's major auto shows take place one after another, the impact of new technologies on major car manufacturers will spread rapidly.