Shanghai Auto Show: Chinese EV makers Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto steal the limelight as Tesla skips flagship event

Tesla's Chinese rivals stole the limelight on the first day of the Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday, drawing the biggest crowds as the US carmaker gave it a miss.

Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto, the home-grown makers of premium electric vehicles (EV), took advantage of the event to convince visitors that their cars were superior to Tesla's even as a price war casts a shadow over the outlook for the nation's automotive industry.

At Xpeng's booth, sales managers talked about the quality of the company's products, saying that they have a competitive edge over rivals in autonomous driving technology, without elaborating.

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The Guangzhou-based carmaker launched the G6, a midsize sport-utility vehicle, which its president Brian Gu said was competitive in design, pricing and performance.

The XPeng G6 SUV made its global debut at the Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday. Photo: Bloomberg alt=The XPeng G6 SUV made its global debut at the Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday. Photo: Bloomberg>

The G6 will take on Tesla's Model Y, which starts from 261,900 yuan (US$38,088) and has a driving range of 545 kilometres.

The G6 can go as far as 610km on a single charge, and is fitted with the carmaker's proprietary autonomous driving software X NGP (navigation guided-pilot), which is similar to Tesla's advanced driver assistance system FSD.

The FSD, or full self-driving software, has not been approved for use in China.

Xpeng said its NGP can be about 90 per cent as efficient as a human driver, and an updated system featuring "from start to park" all-scenario autonomous driving will be rolled out in 2024.

The company, backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, which also owns the Post, did not reveal prices of the G6.

Xpeng, Nio and Li Auto, are viewed as China's best response to Tesla, the current front runner in the mainland's premium EV segment.

Tesla would not comment on why it was not taking part in the show.

At the previous edition in 2021, a woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "brake malfunction" and a Tesla logo jumped on top of the carmaker's vehicle, protesting against the US carmaker over quality issues. Tesla apologised for the owner's issue a day later.

Hundreds of visitors thronged the booths of the three Chinese companies to take a closer look at their vehicles.

People look at a Nio ET7 at the Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday. Photo: AFP alt=People look at a Nio ET7 at the Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday. Photo: AFP>

William Li, co-founder and CEO of Nio, said he does not view the company as a direct rival to Tesla because Nio's cars are priced higher than Tesla's, indicating that they are superior to the Model 3 and Model Y in terms of design, technology and performance.

A Li Auto sales manager said the carmaker had received a large number of orders on the first day of the show.

It is estimated that more than 1 million people will visit the 10-day event this year, nearly 20 per cent more than the 810,000 visitors in 2021, according to the organisers.

Some 1,000 car assemblers and car-parts makers are displaying their products and technologies at the show this year.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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