The world’s largest motor show starts this week, and CarExpert will be there

This year’s Beijing motor show, aka Auto China 2026, will be the world’s largest automotive show this year – and by some margin.

Auto China 2026 will run from this Friday (April 24) to May 3, and for the first time will use exhibition spaces at both the China International Exhibition Centre (Shunyi Hall) and the Capital International Exhibition Centre of China.

Per the organisers, it’s using these two venues to address “previous limitations on the scale of the exhibition”.

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Organisers claim this year’s show will take up a whopping 380,000 square metres of exhibition space, with over 1000 exhibitors displaying 1451 vehicles.

A claimed 181 world premieres will take place at this year’s show, with 71 concept cars displayed across the various stands.

The media days will be April 24-25, with over 200 press conferences scheduled, before the show is opened to professional visitors on April 26 and then the general public on April 28.

Almost every brand that sells cars in China will have a booth at the show, including Chery and its Exeed, iCar, Jetour and Luxeed brands; GWM and its Haval, Ora, Poer, Tank and Wey brands; and Geely with its namesake brand, plus Geely, Lynk & Co, Volvo and Zeekr.

At this stage, it appears there will be some no-shows including Tesla, Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati and Subaru. Chevrolet will also be absent, though fellow General Motors brands Buick and Cadillac will be in attendance.

In addition to automakers, various suppliers and technology companies will be showcasing their products, including BorgWarner, Bosch, CATL and Samsung. This year’s theme is ‘Future of Intelligence’.

The first Auto China event was held in 1990, and the enormous auto exhibition takes place every two years; it effectively alternates with the Shanghai motor show, which has been held since 1985.

Several members of the CarExpert team will be in attendance, so stay tuned for our coverage from the show floor across CarExpert.com.au and our social media channels.