The 19 Most Exciting Cars at the Beijing Auto Show 2026
The 19 Most Exciting Cars at the Beijing Auto Show 2026
2026年北京车展上最令人兴奋的19款车型
While major motor shows in Europe and the United States are being forced to downsize or change their format, those in China continue to expand. 当欧美各大车展被迫缩减规模或改变形式时，中国的车展却在持续扩张。
With 1,451 vehicles on display, including 181 world premieres, the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition 2026 (also known as Auto China 2026) has become the largest auto show in history—and that’s in terms of both exhibition space and the number of vehicles on display. 2026年北京国际汽车展览会（又称2026北京车展）共展出1451辆汽车，其中包括181款全球首发车型，这使其成为史上规模最大的车展——无论是在展览面积还是参展车辆数量上均创下纪录。
This fact itself reflects a shift in the center of gravity of the automotive industry, but that’s not all. A much larger structural transformation is actually taking place in China today. 这一事实本身反映了汽车工业重心的转移，但这还不是全部。事实上，中国目前正在经历一场规模更大的结构性变革。
Previously, the focus was on low-priced electric vehicle models, but now price is no longer the primary point of competition. At the show, not only were there many high-end EVs and large SUVs from Chinese manufacturers equipped with advanced driver-assistance technologies and AI functions, but these technologies are also rapidly spreading to the lower price range. 过去，市场的焦点在于低价电动车型，但现在价格已不再是竞争的核心。在本次车展上，不仅有许多配备先进驾驶辅助技术和人工智能功能的中国品牌高端电动汽车和大型SUV，而且这些技术正迅速向低价位车型普及。
Chinese manufacturers’ cars offer many technologically impressive features. Lidar sensors, which use lasers for advanced driver assistance, are now even being incorporated into EVs costing less than 100,000 yuan (approximately $14,500). Models featuring “drive-by-wire” technology, which replaces mechanical steering connections and hydraulic brake lines with electrical signals, are appearing prominently. Even Toyota’s local models are using Huawei’s powertrains and smart cockpit OS. 中国制造商的汽车提供了许多令人印象深刻的技术特性。用于高级驾驶辅助的激光雷达传感器，现在甚至被应用在售价低于10万元人民币（约合14,500美元）的电动汽车上。采用“线控”技术（以电信号取代机械转向连接和液压制动管路）的车型也频频亮相。甚至丰田的本土化车型也开始使用华为的动力总成和智能座舱操作系统。
The simplistic dichotomy of “cheap Chinese cars versus high-end European cars” no longer holds weight. While staying competitive in the low-price market, Chinese manufacturers are also gaining leadership in areas such as AI, driver-assistance systems, in-car chips, smart cockpits, and high-performance EVs. “廉价中国车对阵高端欧洲车”的简单二分法已不再成立。在保持低价市场竞争力的同时，中国制造商在人工智能、驾驶辅助系统、车载芯片、智能座舱和高性能电动汽车等领域也正占据领先地位。
These 19 particularly noteworthy models from the 2026 Beijing Motor Show best embody this evolution. 2026年北京车展上这19款特别值得关注的车型，最能体现这一演变。
XPeng GX
小鹏GX
There is a fundamental difference between a car designed for autonomous driving and an existing car that’s had autonomous driving technology added to it. XPeng Motors’ GX is the former, a model in which sensors, computing infrastructure, and AI models with Level 4 autonomous driving in mind were designed first, then built into a new SUV bound for the commercial market. 为自动驾驶而设计的汽车与在现有汽车上加装自动驾驶技术的汽车之间存在本质区别。小鹏汽车的GX属于前者，该车型在设计之初就考虑了L4级自动驾驶所需的传感器、计算基础设施和人工智能模型，随后将其构建为一款面向商业市场的新型SUV。
Equipped with up to four proprietary AI chips, it boasts a total computing power of 3,000 tera operations per second—approximately 12 times the 254 TOPS that a single Nvidia Orin is capable of. The latest AI model in the vehicle can recognize spoken commands as well as the images captured by car’s cameras, and it can understanding and adapt to the current driving conditions. 它配备了多达四颗自研AI芯片，总算力高达3000 TOPS（每秒万亿次运算）——约为单颗英伟达Orin芯片254 TOPS算力的12倍。车内搭载的最新AI模型不仅能识别语音指令，还能识别车载摄像头捕捉到的图像，并能理解和适应当前的驾驶环境。
Volkswagen has adopted XPeng’s AI chip and driver-assistance technology in its EVs, meaning XPeng is no longer just an EV manufacturer. It’s becoming a platform provider supplying the brains behind autonomous driving to Europe’s largest automaker. The price is 399,800 yuan (approximately $58,000). 大众汽车已在其电动汽车中采用了小鹏的AI芯片和驾驶辅助技术，这意味着小鹏不再仅仅是一家电动汽车制造商。它正在成为一家平台供应商，为欧洲最大的汽车制造商提供自动驾驶背后的“大脑”。该车售价为399,800元人民币（约合58,000美元）。
Another “AI-native” car at the show is the Jiayue 07 from SAIC Motor’s Roewe brand. It was designed around the Doubao Da Model 2.0, an LLM developed in collaboration with the cloud division of ByteDance, the company known for TikTok. The fact that multiple Chinese manufacturers are simultaneously demonstrating AI as the starting point of car design is highly significant. 车展上另一款“AI原生”汽车是上汽荣威品牌的“嘉悦07”。它的设计围绕着“豆包大模型2.0”展开，这是与字节跳动（TikTok的母公司）云部门合作开发的大语言模型。多家中国制造商同时展示以人工智能作为汽车设计起点，这一事实意义重大。
Geely EVA Cab
吉利EVA Cab
Geely has debuted a minivan-type EV designed for fully autonomous driving. There’s no steering wheel and no foot pedals. The EVA Cab has no driver’s seat and features a layout with four seats arranged face-to-face. It is positioned as China’s first robotaxi, designed specifically for autonomous driving. 吉利推出了一款专为全自动驾驶设计的厢式电动汽车。它没有方向盘，也没有踏板。EVA Cab没有驾驶座，采用了四个座位面对面布置的布局。它被定位为中国首款专为自动驾驶设计的Robotaxi（自动驾驶出租车）。
The system boasts a computing power exceeding 3,000 TOPS, and its lidar scanner is touted as being the world’s most powerful. Geely claims that it employs robust security technology for communication between the vehicle and the cloud. The specialty EV is going into mass production; Geely plans to commercialize it in 2027 through its ride-hailing service, CaoCao Mobility. 该系统算力超过3000 TOPS，其激光雷达扫描仪被誉为全球最强。吉利声称，它在车辆与云端之间的通信中采用了强大的安全技术。这款特种电动汽车即将投入量产；吉利计划在2027年通过其旗下的曹操出行服务将其商业化。
Li Auto L9 Livis
理想L9 Livis
Traditional cars had a metal shaft connecting the steering wheel and tires, and a hydraulic piping physically connecting the brake pedal and brake calipers. This structure remained unchanged for over 100 years, but the newest Chinese EVs are starting to employ a system called drive-by-wire, which replaces these mechanical parts with electrical signals. 传统汽车通过金属轴连接方向盘和轮胎，并通过液压管路物理连接刹车踏板和刹车卡钳。这种结构保持了100多年未变，但最新的中国电动汽车开始采用一种名为“线控”的系统，用电信号取代了这些机械部件。
Li Auto’s L9 Livis integrates drive-by-wire (also called steer-by-wire, chassis-by-wire, and electrical steering), four-wheel steering, and electromechanical brakes all without any mechanical or hydraulic connections. According to Li Auto’s claims, this is a “world first.” The response speed of the electronically controlled brakes is significantly faster than that of hydraulic brakes, the company says, and it is positioned as a hardware foundation for future advanced autonomous driving. 理想L9 Livis集成了线控技术（也称为线控转向、线控底盘和电子转向）、四轮转向和机电制动，完全没有任何机械或液压连接。据理想汽车称，这是“全球首创”。该公司表示，电子控制制动的响应速度明显快于液压制动，它被定位为未来高级自动驾驶的硬件基础。
This leap was made possible because China’s new national standard (effective January 2026) defining the requirements for passenger car braking systems includes standards for electromechanical brakes. While similar regulations are being developed in member states of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, including Europe and Japan, this represents a “Chinese-style innovation” where regulations and technology move simultaneously. The price is 559,800 yuan (approximately $82,300). 这一飞跃之所以成为可能，是因为中国于2026年1月生效的乘用车制动系统新国家标准中，包含了机电制动的相关标准。虽然联合国欧洲经济委员会成员国（包括欧洲和日本）也在制定类似的法规，但这代表了一种法规与技术同步推进的“中国式创新”。该车售价为559,800元人民币（约合82,300美元）。
IM LS8
智己LS8
IM Motors, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor, showcased the IM LS8 in Beijing. The range-extended EV not only features four-wheel steering, lidar, and high-performance driver-assistance systems, but also employs drive-by-wire technology. With a starting price of 249,800 yuan (approximately $36,700), it is half the price of the L9 Livis, demonstrating that these newest technologies have arrived in flagship models and affordably priced vehicles almost simultaneously. 上汽集团旗下的智己汽车在北京展示了智己LS8。这款增程式电动汽车不仅配备了四轮转向、激光雷达和高性能驾驶辅助系统，还采用了线控技术。其起售价为249,800元人民币（约合36,700美元），仅为L9 Livis价格的一半，这表明这些最新技术几乎同时出现在了旗舰车型和经济型车辆上。
These developments could shake the foundation of the business. 这些发展可能会动摇整个行业的根基。