A New Vision of Travel in the New Era --Chengdu Motor Show 2024 Successfully Concluded

2024-9-8

The 27th Chengdu Motor Show (CDMS 2024) was successfully closed on September 8, 2024 at the Western China International Expo City. With great support and guidance from the provincial and municipal departments concerned, the CDMS, as one of the benchmarks of China’s auto industry, has attracted 130 exhibitors from home and abroad, which exhibited more than 1,600 vehicles on an exhibition area of 220,000 square meters. On the opening day, 63 vibrant and varied launch events were held, unveiling a total of 73 debut models, including 27 new models of global premiere and 38 new models of national premiere. 10,102 journalists from 3,570 domestic and foreign media reported the auto show on site.

As the first domestic A-class auto show in the second half of the year, CDMS 2024 not only focused on the latest trends of the automobile industry in China, but also showcased a panoramic result of the iterative upgrading and sci-tech innovation of the automobile industry, manifesting the development vitality of auto markets in central and western China and even the whole country. Evolving from “Lead a New Fashion” and “Steer into the Future”, and from “Vibrancy” to “Move Towards the ‘New’”, CDMS is persistent in change and continues to lead the new future of travel.

I. New Line-ups Emerge in Endlessly, New Layout Harnesses the Momentum
Mr. Chai Zhanxiang, Assistant President of the Automotive Sub-Council, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade commented, “The automobile industry is currently passing the special node in history, and experiencing profound changes at the market, foundation and industrial levels. The reform has entered the deep water zone.”

This year’s show fully demonstrated the diverse dynamics in auto markets, such as the expanding scale to upgrade the brand lineup and an increasing force to subdivide the layout of the booths.

Expressions of “First Time”, “Debut” and “The Most” Frequently Appeared. This event features the use of Hall 9 for the first time, as well as record-setting booth areas of a number of brands. BYD occupied the entire Hall 9, while BMW Group displayed 13 new models, setting a new record for the largest number of BMW new cars ever exhibited at the CDMS. Great Wall Motors, Chery Automobile and others also made a grand debut with their oversized booths. Out of the new cars unveiled, the first-ever debut of Mercedes-Benz GLC Plug-in Hybrid SUV, Long Wheelbase BMW X3, BYD MPV XIA, ZEEKR 7X, AVATR 07, Voyah Zhiyin, New IM LS6, New Passat PRO, New Hyunda SantaFe and smart#5 gave the visitors rounds of surprise. Big shots in the auto industry made a presence at the scene. Huawei Executive Director Yu Chengdong, Xpeng Chairman He Xiaopeng, Chery Automobile Chairman Yin Tongyue, BAIC Chairman Zhang Jianyong, Great Wall Motors Chairman Wei Jianjun and NIO’s President Qin Lihong participated in on-site interaction at the booth, lifting the show’s industry influence to new heights.

Focusing on core technologies and subdivision tracks, the brands open up a new layout for planning. As the core competitive areas in current auto markets, new energy and intelligentization represented the multi-fields, such as autonomous driving, intelligent cockpit, operating system, chips and laser radar showing the fullest in this year’s show. “Qilin” Battery, DiSus Chassis, e⁴ Platform, Huawei’s Tuling Intelligent Chassis, “Spirit Lizard Digital Chassis” and 800V high-voltage quick charge technology become a key point of the new round. The aim is to create characteristic products and focus on subdivision areas. The Chengdu-made new generation Prado introduced four models: the Cross BX version, All-round TX version, and Wild WX version, marking that FAW Toyota has completed its series-wide three-stage layout of the “Toyota Intelligent Hybrid System with Two Electric Motors” and comprehensively entered a new stage of electrification; Mercedes-Benz’s line-up of wild G-class family, noble Maybach family and passionate AMG family further pronounces differentiation in the breadth of coverage. Let alone the new V-class MPV, GLC hybrid model, and AMG EQE 53 SUV all reflecting Mercedes-Benz’s comprehensive coverage of the subdivision areas; BMW Group focused on performance cars this time, and made a debut with the first domestic BMW M performance car—New BMW X1 M35Li, among other models.

Innovative arrangements to accurately meet the personalized needs of consumers. Mercedes-Benz served afternoon tea to customers in conjunction with LV, ZEEKR opened the “ZEEKR Art Gallery”, Ford Motor directly set up the “mountain” and “gravel” scenarios on the booth, and Dongfeng-Honda Lingxi L had cross-border cooperation with POP MART in launching the “VITA Lingxi Customized Edition”, actively creating new scenarios of automobile consumption; Changan Mazda built fully equipped simulation tracks for remote control racing cars, LYNK & CO brought a VR “jump machine” that led to an adrenaline rush, and SAIC Volkswagen showed off virtual racing cars, attracting a large number of visitors who pursued a unique driving experience.

II. Strength-based Demonstration of New Trends, Eye-catching Diverse Experiences
CDMS on the list of four major A-class auto shows in China is positioned as “the most dynamic A-class auto show”, which aims to provide a window for the majority of visitors who love life and travel to catch a glimpse of the future travel.

Capability from the sky to the sea reflects the evolution of travel in China. On the opening day, XPeng AEROHT made the flight debut in Chengdu, the Heavenly Land of Plenty, to rehearse the new possibilities for future travel; Yangwang U8 demonstrated its emergency float function on the spot. In addition to these, visitors can also experience the latest “black technologies” of the automobile industry, such as 360° turn-around and a crawling mode for climbing slopes.

Professional developments pushed the auto show forum to reach a new level. The “2024 China Automotive Pioneer Thinking Symposium” themed on “Forging Ahead Courageously” kicking off on the first day of the show discussed the industry market developments amid new changes, during which, the Path to Globalization of China’s Automotive Industry was released. Industry leaders, including Voyah CEO Lu Fang, LIVAN Auto Vice President Cai Jianjun, Sales & Marketing Vice President Kurt Bachmaier of Magna Steyr, Denza General Manager Zhao Changjiang, Vice-President Li Xueyong of Chery, Vice President Wang Min of Ant Group for the Alipay Business Unit, Vice President Zheng Zhuang of JD Automobile Division and Professor Zhu Xichan at the School of Automotive Engineering of Tongji University, talked about the future of the auto industry on site, with participants numbers reaching a record high. In addition to the frontier discussion at the main forum, the sub-forum themed “Exhibition-City Integration -Special Economic and Trade Activity on the Going-global of Auto Industry Companies“ was also successfully held on September 2 in the Press Conference Hall of Western China International Expo City.

New Scenarios Created Through Cross-border Innovation Unlock Diverse New Experiences. Alipay, the digital auto show partner of CDMS, launched the pioneering “Creative House” that features different scenarios and diversified AI technologies jointly with the show. Smart AR scanning allowed the visitors to visit the exhibition with fun and win a lot of gifts. Customized commemorative tickets for the show, customized photos provided by the time and space photo studio, all brought new experience and much fun; concurrently, the first car party of its kind in Southwest China was opened in conjunction with Bilibili, Dewu, Sichuanguancha and &FM102.6. A large number of bloggers took you to see and experience the cars, and visit the fashion face-lift clubs, where you can see the fashion face-lifts, make diverse interactions, visit night-only halls and experience many other diverse car scenarios; to create a better experience of fashion consumption, it also joined hands with China Southern Airlines, JD MALL and other platforms to carry out interactions, such as stewardess hand-delivering gifts and smart home activity. 

Cross-city and Cross-region Collaboration Leads the Popularity of Events Beyond the Show. This year, CDMS launched a blockbuster activity themed “Car Club • Life” that aligned with the “low-altitude economic” and “metropolitan night economic” development of Chengdu beside the Qinhuang Lake at Tianfu International Convention Center. Adopting diverse forms of flying cars, classic car cinemas, markets, concerts, this three-day activity lit up the fashion “car” life, and attracted surrounding residents to visit, receiving positive feedback; with a focus on brands “Made in Chengdu”, this event aimed to facilitate the exhibition-industry integrated and coordinated development by carrying out “Super Factory” visits in the Economic-Technological Development Area at the same time, during which a group of parent-child families were invited to visit the factory and feel the charm of the automobile industry in an immersive manner through a series of explanations and tours.

III. Consumption Boom in Full Swing, Integration of Internationalization” and “Hustle and Bustle”
As the starting position of Chinese central and western auto markets, CDMS not only offers a stage for domestic and foreign automakers to showcase their latest technologies and products, but also becomes a key indicator of consumer market confidence. According to incomplete statistics, there were 926,200 participants in the auto show and exhibition-city integration activities, and more than 2.8 billion people following the “CDMS 2024” and related topics, refreshing the report card both in terms of the “flow of people” and the “sales”.

With crowds bustling in recent days, the atmosphere is charged with consumer enthusiasm. In order to further boost automobile consumption, this year’s show created the “You Never Expected” car purchase lotteries, which greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of consumers. As a sincere return to each visitor, it offered a cash prize of 49999 yuan every day, and many high-value gifts. Besides, the municipal government concurrently issued 100 million car purchase subsidies in cash to give another boost to consumption and speed up the recovery of the consumer market.

“Internationalization” Meets “Hustle and Bustle” to Create “New” Integration Chengdu ranks the national fourth in consumption, where the residents have a strong willingness to consume, and enjoy a specific daily life of comfortable travel and life. “The auto show in August and September” has become a must-visit travel habit for people in Chengdu. CDMS, as a must-visit event, has as always attracted a large number of visitors from other places, whether in the form of groups, or travel with families. During the auto show, Chengdu has also ushered in significant passenger flow into transportation, accommodation, catering and other related industries; as well as a record-hitting number of foreign tourists. Tourists traveling in China, overseas anchors and foreigners working in China all lamented the popularity of CDMS and the charming cars exhibited, and gave high praise to Chinese automobiles. Many hot topics on CDMS emerged on Tiktok, such as # CDMS, We Are Really Strong#, #Foreigners are Surprised by CDMS#, #Foreigners visiting CDMS Praised Smart Chinese Cars#, #Surprise! Chengdu Organized an Academic Auto Show”, etc. 

Mr. Guillaume Delvallée, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Republic of France in Chengdu, Mr. Yan Won-jae, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Chengdu, and Mr. Julian Lasinger, Deputy Consul General of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chengdu supported the recommendation in person at the show, and gave praise to this event, saying that “CDMS offers an important stage to unveil new products and technologies, and gathers China’s power of travel, which is well worth visiting”. With cars as the medium, CDMS which boasts “new” integration is gaining global recognition. 

Looking back at travel in the new era, ‘good’ to ‘better’ pursuit is more than a slogan, but the unswerving chase of China’s automobile industry. Being more than a gala of the auto industry, CDMS 2024 also represents a profound exploration of future travels. Going forward, it will continue to lead the industry forward, and contribute to reshaping a better future of travel.