It’s no secret that geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China are not great. Arguably, they’ve only gotten worse within the past few weeks, as a possible TikTok ban comes into focus and U.S. pressure on Mexico is attempting to make it harder for Chinese EVs to make it to the US without a big tariff. Still, it’s unconscionable to have a conversation about EVs, without mentioning China. A brutal price war (albeit in response to a slowing Chinese economy) has put EVs within reach of more people than ever in that country. There are a lot of things at play here that have made the Chinese EV market the most interesting it’s ever been.
So this year, InsideEVs is one of the few US outlets that snagged an opportunity to see what's going on the other side of the world at this year’s Beijing Auto Show.
My stay in Beijing will include time at this year’s show, but also some time with Geely and all of its brands; Polestar, Smart, Lynk & Co and Zeekr, as well as some of the other brands that only exist in China, like JiYue, Radar and Farizon. The conglomerate tells me that this is one of the first times it has assembled representatives and products of all of its brands in one place.
Of course, I didn’t fly all the way to China to simply gawk at cars we’ll never get and not drive anything. I have a full day of driving after the auto show, where I will be able to sample nearly all of Geely’s latest models from all of its brands. Well, all except Polestar and Volvo—which is fine, since we’ll be doing a U.S.-specific Polestar driving event in the near future anyway. This includes EVs like the Geely Galaxy E8 and Zeekr X as well as plug-in hybrids like the Lynk & Co 08 and regular hybrids like the Geely Galaxy L7. It’s a very wide selection of electrified products.
There will be a lot of conversations to be had and people to meet at the Beijing Auto Show. It’s definitely overwhelming, and there’s no chance I’ll get a firm grasp of what each EV manufacturer has planned for China within a single day in Beijing.
Still, that doesn’t mean I won’t give it the ol’ college try. China is a trendsetter in EV adoption and technology. The things that happen here will soon trickle to the rest of the world.
So, while I’m here, what do you want to know about the Beijing Auto Show or Chinese EV industry? There will be more than 700 exhibitors, both Chinese and Western. I'll do my best to run everything down.
Find me here at kevin.williams@insideevs.com, or on Twitter/X at @GaytonaUSA.
