The coolest and craziest Chinese cars from the Shanghai motor show

China is the world’s largest car market – and it also leads the way in electric vehicle sales.

Around six million EVs were sold in China last year, ranging from cute, compact city cars to high-end, luxury SUVs.

So it’s no surprise that Auto Shanghai has grown into one of the world’s biggest motor shows, with more than 1000 exhibitors and 100 new machines on display. Move Electric has scoured the halls to pick out some of the most notable EVs from the domestic Chinese brands.

Aion HyperGT

First revealed late last year, the Hyper GT is a sleek sporting saloon from GAC’s premium Aion sub-brand. The firm claims that the production version will have a drag coefficient of 0.19, giving it the lowest-ever wind resistance of any mass market vehicle. With an output of 250kW in single motor form (a more powerful dual motor version is coming), it has a 0-62mph time of 4.9 seconds, and that low wind resistance should give it a decent range – although we’ve yet to get details about battery size.

Arcfox Kaolo

Previously known for a line of performance models, Arcfox shows a new SUV designed specifically for young families. It’s a four-seater, with the middle seat removed to make it easier for parents to access the custom-designed baby seat. The side of the car the baby seat fits in features extra airbags and has been reinforced for extra safety, while the centre console also folds out into a changing table.

There’s also a heating and cooling box to store feeding bottles, ultraviolet lights to kill germs, an interior that uses materials certified not to irritate a child’s skin and a monitor that can detect if a baby is restless and automatically play soothing music.

There’s also the ‘excretion mode’, based on a temperature sensor in the child seat that can detect if a kid has made a mess. When that happens it automatically sets the ventilation to suck out any resulting smells.

FAW Bestune Xiaoma

Chinese giant FAW’s answer to the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV – the country’s best-selling EV – a variety of Bestune Xiaoma were on display, including this convertible. As with the standard version, the 3270mm long machine offers a range of up to 301km.

FAW Bestune Xiaoma QQ's PuPu

Of the various FAW Bestune Xiaoma, the one that stood out – for fairly obvious reasons – was this QQ’s PuPu edition. The cartoon-penguin themed exterior was bold, but not as committed as the interior, with seats were individually colours based on different cartoon animals. 

FAW Bestune Xiaoma QQ's PuPu

Our favourite feature of the car was found on the dashboard: a special surface you could stick Lego on, although FAW preferred to use it to display a range of PuPu models.

BYD Seagull

The latest entry in the Chinese giant’s ocean-themed line of cars, the Seal is a compact electric hatch that’s similar in size to the Volkswagen e-Up. While it’s only confirmed for the Chinese market, BYD is expanding into Europe and elsewhere, and this is the sort of small machine that could appeal to many.

Changan Lumin

Launched in 2022, the Changan Lumin takes the concept of comparing headlights to eyes to a whole new level – and just look at those eyes and tell us this car doesn't want you to buy it.

Another Chinese mini EV, the Lumin has a 31kW motor and choice of two batteries, with the largest 18kWh unit giving a range of up to 130 miles.

Dayun Yuanlu S1

Measuring just 3.6 metres long, the Yuanlu S1 is Dayun’s answer to the fast-growing market for affordable micro EVs sparked by the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, China’s best-selling electric vehicle. It has a small 35kW motor and a 31.7kWh battery gives a claimed range of more than 205 miles. We quite liked it in this Rabbit YueHu special edition.

e-Qi Vision

A sleek and distinctly styled electric pick-up from car giant Dongfeng’s new electric brand, the Vision showcases a number of innovative features, including tool kits that pop out of compartments built into the side of the car.

Geely Galaxy Light

Geely Galaxy is a new 'high-end' product series from the Chinese giant that will launch with two plug-in hybrids, the L8 SUB and L8 saloon, later this year. But the firm has also given a glimpse of the future with this pure electric Light concept.

Previewing a future production model, the sleek Light features gull-wing opening doors and sleek styling, although no technical details have been released yet. Geely is promising plenty of tech, including an advanced operating system for the car and infotainment.

eely Geome Panda Mini EV

Geely also had several special versions of its Panda Mini EV on display, including this rugged off-road special that featured chunky wheels, roof rails, a window ladder, front projection lights and even tow hook attachments. 

Geely Geome Panda Mini EV

There was also a more standard version of the Panda Mini EV, which was displayed in a bold duck-themed livery. To find out why we did ask the question written on the side of the car, but didn’t get a clear answer.

HiPhi Y

The new HiPhi Y from the premium electric vehicle brand stands out due to its unusual styling, particularly the bold rear gulping doors. But the Europe-bound SUV has plenty more going for it, including a 394kW dual-motor powertrain and a 97kWh battery that gives a range of up to 403 miles.

Horwin Senmenti X

Electric motorbikes and two-wheelers are hugely popular in China, and leading two-wheel EV brand Horwin had a sizeable display with a range of distinctive machines on show. The most notable was the Senmenti X, which wouldn’t look out of place in the next Tron film. It has performance too, with a claimed 0-62mph time of 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 124mph.

Hycan V09 Atelier

Heard of the Porsche Taycan? Well meet the Hycan. Okay, apart from rhyming the Chinese brand has nothing at all in common with Porsche’s electric model. Instead, the brand launched the V09, a large and practical-looking electric MPV. We particularly liked it in this upmarket Atelier trim. Notably, it features an 800V architecture, which should allow for super-fast charging.

iCar GT

No, this isn’t the oft-rumoured Apple Car: iCar is a new EV brand from Chery Auto. iCar will be focused on younger buyers, with a planned six-car line-up of models that will feature lots of technology including advanced semi-autonomous technology. They will also use battery giant CATL’s new sodium-ion batteries.

The iCar GT is still a concept at this stage, but features dramatic styling, a big interior touchscreen and a virtual in-car assistant. Prices are tripped to start in China from the equivalent of around $21,500.

Fun fact: iCar’s logo was created by the person who designed the panda mascot for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Leapmotor T03

Another cute micro EV – and the rare one presented at the show without a wacky cartoonish special edition. The T03 uses an 80kW motor and has a 30.1kWh battery that gives an official range of up to 250 miles.
 

M-Hero 917

A rugged SUV from Dongfeng’s new electrified off-road brand, the 917 is offered with electric and ‘range extender’ hybrid powertrains. The EV version uses four motors to offer 1073bhp and 1030lb ft, with a 142kWh battery giving the hefty machine a range of 310 miles.

The hybrid uses three electric motors, with a small 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo that purely creates energy to recharge the 64kWh battery, giving a total combined range of 497 miles.

While the M-Hero 917 might look big thanks to its chunky off-road tyres and high ground clearance, at just under fives metres long it’s slightly shorter than a Range Rover. The firm is actually looking for partners to expand into overseas markets, particularly Europe and the Middle East.

Nio ES6

Chinese premium brand Nio is one of the most successful of the country’s EV start-ups, and revealed the heavily updated version of its best-selling ES6 – its best-selling model – at the show.

The new machine features reworked styling, further developing Nio’s design language, and an updated interior that has a focus on offering greater space and perceived quality. And, of course, it still features Nio’s pioneering battery swap technology, where special machines can replace a drained power pack for a new one in less than five minutes. 

Ora Ballet Cat

This isn’t the first time the Ora Ballet Cat has been shown in public, but even if we were setting eyes on it completely fresh, we suspect was it might seen somewhat… familiar. Ballet Cat? Perhaps they should have considered the Copy Cat...

Rising Auto F7

Rising is a new premium brand from SAIC (which has a long-running joint venture with Volkswagen and also owns MG and Maxus), focused on premium electric models. The F7 saloon launched at the show is its second machine, and has been built with the capacity fo battery swap technology.

Jetta VS7

Launched in China shortly after private car ownership became legal, for a long time the Volkswagen Jetta was one of the country’s best-selling machines, and there remains a real fondness for the model. Which is why, when Volkswagen decided to launch a China-only ‘affordable’ electric car brand, it used the Jetta name.

The firm’s range, led by the VS7, looks absolutely fine and practical, but it was slightly overshadowed by the classic Jetta prominently placed at the front of the stand.

Xpeng G6

Another firm currently expanding into Europe, Xpeng has a heavy focus on technology, and the new G6 is its latest model that will be fitted with LiDar and a range of other sensors to allow for advanced driver assistance systems. Single and dual-motor systems will be offered.

Xpeng X2

Xpeng isn’t just focused on success on the roads, and hovering above its stand was the X2, its electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) craft. The compact machine weighs 680kg and can offer up to 25 minutes of flight time.

Zeekr M-Vision

Zeekr is the latest Chinese EV brand to announce plans to expand into Europe. It has good pedigree, too, given it was created by Geely – which owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and more – so you know the Technology and platform will be good. This M-Vision, revealed last year, isn’t actually part of the planned European launch line-up: it’s an MPV developed as a self-driving ‘robotaxi’ concept.

GAC Space

If you can look beyond a grille that wouldn’t look out of place attached to a combine harvester, the GAC Space concept is a fascinating machine designed for Level Four autonomy and featuring an innovative hydrogen-electric powertrain. But, yeah, that grille though…

Yangwang U9

Yangwang is BYD’s new luxury brand, and officially launched at Shanghai with two models: the U8 hardcore off-roader – and the U9 sports coupe. The latter is an Audi R8 rival that uses BYD’s proprietary EV technology and will utilise four electric motors. While BYD has yet to confirm a power output, it does say the machine will be able of 0-62mph in less than two seconds.